San Marcos girls golf remained in sole possession of first place in the Channel League with a victory over rival Dos Pueblos on a hot Tuesday afternoon at Sandpiper Golf Course.
The Royals (11-1, 6-0 Channel League) ended the day with a team score of 255, while the Chargers’ (7-2, 4-2 Channel League) top-five-golfer total was 273 on the par-36 course.
“We were really excited to come away with this win on our home course,” San Marcos head coach Sarah Ashton said. “Sandpiper is a long and tough course. This week had a lot of things that could have pulled our attention away from our goal, but the girls really kept their focus today and I’m really proud of them for that.
“Each of the girls on the team made a significant contribution to the team, whether in score, building team community, or exemplifying resilience. I’m honestly so proud of each of them.”
San Marcos’ Simrin Singh carded a new personal-best score in the win, shooting a 44 to earn medalist honors. Her round was capped off by a strong par on a long final hole.
“[Singh] came in with great energy and just never looked back. She played very controlled and demonstrated great resilience and shot choice,” Ashton said..
She was followed by San Marcos teammates Mia Rocha (47), Chloe Bellamy (52), Hayden Anderson (54), Cana Spieker (58) and Sierra Kaderali (61).
“[Rocha] pushed through a little bit of a slower-than-usual start to finish with a solid performance. Her ability to turn it around and end the round with composure, strong scores and sportsmanship is a difference maker for us,” Ashton said. “She’s a great balance of sportsmanship and competitiveness and is a role model to our younger teammates as well.
“Dos Pueblos is a worthy opponent and played a strong round today, as we expected. We knew we would have to play with our best effort in order to come away with the victory.”
On the other side, Dos Pueblos’ Celeste Alcaraz flirted with another medalist honor and finished just one stroke behind Singh at 45.
The Chargers were rounded out by Alina Van Hooijdonk (55), Ursula Solodkin (56), Bella Sebastian (56), Sophia Fuste (61) and Sophia Ralston (63).
“SM is a good team, and we needed to be very good today to beat them at their home course,” Dos Pueblos head coach Dan Choi said. “Unfortunately, we were not at our best, but it wasn’t from a lack of trying.
“I am proud of the way our golfers battled out there and how ready and willing they always are to rededicate themselves to getting better.”
