A cluster of girls stand together in the cafeteria. They peer out the windows, waiting for a bus that has not yet come. As time ticks on, each girl fears they will be late for their match. In an undefeated season on its way to the state championship, it seems that a trend of late busses is the biggest obstacle the girls face.

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“If there’s a bus that is late, guaranteed it’s always the girls’," joked coach Ken Bateman. “I don’t know why that’s the case! From an outside standpoint, it definitely seems like the bus doesn’t care about us, but I think it’s just for some weird reason, it’s just always our bus [that is late].”

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Bussing issues aside, the girls golf team does feel they and their successes go unnoticed in the larger school community.

 

“I would say that not many people recognize the girls golf team does as well as they do, and when they realize how well they do; they say ‘oh that’s great’...,” Bateman described.

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The girls varsity golf team is made up of girls of various ages and grades. “Our goal is to go into regionals undefeated with 20 wins,” said Riley Casey ’19, who now plays on varsity for her second year. As of Tuesday, the girls reached that goal and now are headed to states.

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“I think the biggest strength about all of our golfers is that they all want to win, and they all want to get better,” said Bateman.

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After coming in second at states last year, the team entered this season ready to complete last year’s unfinished business.

 

“This year we came in with a goal from the first match of being undefeated, winning all of our matches, knowing all of our competition, and beating all of our competition. That was the goal from day one,” said captain Caroline Lane ’17.

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Bateman credits all the season’s success to this drive the girls have.

 

“It’s working because of how motivated the girls are. Last year we finished second in the state and at that moment in time, all six of them were like ‘we’re coming back next year, and we’re going to win this thing’. At that very moment in time,” he said.  

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The team, determined to succeed, focuses all their attention on each individual match with their goal in mind. Although pressure to continue winning comes with being undefeated, it never impacts how the team plays.

 

“There is a little bit of pressure because we all want to play well,” Emma Cieslik ’19 said. “When we have harder matches it pushes us to do our best. Overall, I think it helps us focus and it isn’t a stressful amount of pressure.”

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Part of that pressure comes from the team’s strong bond and the girls’ desire to help their teammates.

 

“You don’t want to let your teammates down in a match because for you to win your individual match contributes to whether or not the team will win. We put a little added pressure on ourselves to make sure we’re winning for the team because you don’t want to let your other teammates down,” said Lane.

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The success that this team has found, combined with the friendly environment the upperclassmen on the team have created, has made for an all around success.

 

“Almost all of the top girls have all been playing since freshmen year, and we’re all really close this year. It’s been so much fun,” Malina Rufo ’17 said.

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After coming in first at sectionals, states is the next stop for the girls. Preparing for sectionals took time and focus. Regular season matches consist of only 9 holes, but sectionals was the first time the girls played 18 holes in a match. To prepared for this, however, the girls spent weekends practicing playing on 18 hole courses in preparation for the sectionals.

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To qualify for sectionals, the team needed to win half of their regular season matches. At sectionals, six girls from each team are allowed to play. In order to qualify for the next tournament, the state finals, the four lowest scores of the six girls playing in sectionals were added together. The team with the lowest overall score will advance to the state finals.

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Despite the constant pursuit of their goals, the team still manages to make every day a fun experience.

 

“I’ve really enjoyed being on the golf team. Even as a freshman last year, everyone was super nice and inclusive. The older girls would always try to make us feel comfortable. This year as a sophomore I’m having just as good of a time,” Cieslik said.

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Cieslik also attributes part of her level of comfort on the team to team captain Caroline Lane ’17. Lane, who has been playing golf for all four years of high school, has enjoyed this season as well.

 

“It has been a great season; being undefeated is huge for us. This is the most committed and focused the team has ever been in all my four years. It’s been an amazing season so far, and we hope for it to continue,” Lane said.

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Unlike many other sports, one of the main challenges the golf team faces is the issue of recognition. Despite their immense success this season, the impressiveness of their record is not well known around the school. Even outside of social and academic situations, the team has faced problems such as not having a bus come to pick them up.

 

In regards to this, Rufo said, ““It is frustrating because, especially before a match, we try to focus, and sitting at the school, expecting buses to come gets you out of focus.”

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The unknown success of the golf team, and the apparent lack of attention to their sport, raises a bigger question. Are all sports at the high school treated equally and given the same amount of attention?

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While the answer to this question remains unknown, the accomplishments of the golf team may help to make the answer to this question an obvious yes. With this in mind, as well as memories of last year, the girls are working hard to ensure a win.

 

“Last year we went to states and came in second, so this year I feel like we have a good shot at coming in first based off of how the season is going so far,” Cieslik said.