GILROY—When it comes to Christopher and Santa Catalina, eight is the magic number.
The last two meetings between the two teams have been decided by eight strokes. Last year, the Cougars beat the visitors 257-265. This time, Christopher shot the exact same score, but came away with a different result, falling 257-249 to Catalina Tuesday at Gilroy Golf Course.
It’s the team’s second best score of the year—Christopher shot a 232 in its win over Notre Dame on Sept. 11—so the team isn’t letting the loss get them down.
“I saw our team finally come together,” CHS coach Manuel Gallardo said. “Regardless of whether we won or lost, we shot our team best. Unfortunately they played a little bit better, but our girls looked confident out there and they looked relaxed. It’s a good step for the rest of the season.”
Santa Catalina’s Chloe Corriveau was the match medalist, shooting just one over par to finish with a 36. Christopher’s Natalie Gutierrez wasn’t far behind, carding a 45—the lowest score for her team.
But it didn’t come without it’s difficulties.
“It was pretty interesting because I had a lot of two-shots,” Gutierrez said. “I hit a ball and it hit a tree and it actually knocked me back, but I made it up and I almost hit it on the green, then I just chipped on.”
The Christopher golfers found themselves in penalty trouble a few times on the course, but Gallardo said he admired their ability to recover.
Hole 7 seemed to be especially tricky for the Cougars, especially Gutierrez who shot out of bounds. Fortunately for her, she was able to make up the penalty and spare her score.
Mia Navarro—who carded the second lowest score for Christopher with a 49—also had a scare on Hole 7, but discovered her ball landed in a lucky spot.
“On that same hole (7), I went into the tree and I was like ‘man, it’s out’,” Navarro said. “Then the coach drove by and he said it was in, but barely in. I had to move it and it was crazy, but fun.”
Navarro hit for par on Hole 2, which she considered her easiest hole of the day. Gutierrez, however, said her best hole came as the match was winding down.
“(One of the final holes) was probably my easiest one because I hit my 4 wood on the green and then I think ended up putting it in,” she said. “It was still really easy because I had a long put; it went down pretty well.”
All the Christopher golfers kept their scores under 60. Alex Granados hit a 51, Nina Velez a 53 and Frankie Vannie finished with a 59.
Gallardo said he’s happy with his team’s performance and chemistry.
“Alex (Granados) shot a little bit better than her season average so far, but it’s good seeing them actually have penalties and recover from it pretty well,” he said. “I want to see their confidence and energy stay where it’s at. They seem to have really come together as a team—on and off the course.”
Christopher (3-2) will return to Gilroy Golf Course to host Watsonville at 3:30 p.m. Thursday for a non-league contest. Gutierrez and Navarro are hoping to clean up some aspects of their game before facing off against the Wildcatz.
“I’ve got to work on putting. For the last couple matches I’ve been hitting it on the green, doing really great—even if I have bad shots I can make them up—and then I get on the green and it’s like ‘oh I’ve gotta three-putt this, oh no’,” Gutierrez said.
“I need to work on putting too and landing a good chip,” Navarro added. “If you’re going to chip it, making sure it’s in the range that you want it to be. That’s where I struggle with, too.”
