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Northwood wins first CIF girls golf title
CHINO HILLS – The team that plays the least in Orange County stepped up when it mattered the most and made school history on Wednesday at Los Serranos Country Club.
Northwood was among the three schools in the 25-team field which had two players post a score in the 70s on the North Course, and that helped the Timberwolves card a 418, which was good enough to win the CIF-SS Southern Team Regional.
It is the first CIF-SS girls golf title for Northwood though the Timberwolves have won seven consecutive Pacific Coast League championships.
Northwood isn’t like most schools. It doesn’t schedule any nonleague matches. Coach Zach Halop said his girls wouldn’t want it any other way as they need all of that extra time to study for their AP classes.
“This (championship) is a culmination of a lot of things. To do it with the competition out here, which is very stiff, it’s very sweet,” Halop said. “These girls are the embodiment of what a student-athlete is. I think the average GPA on the team is 3.9. Even over this I am more proud of them for that.”
Avery French and Elizabeth Soewondo each shot a 4-over-par 78 as Dana Hills finished second with a 420. Brea Olinda and Mater Dei posted a 424 and 426, respectively, to place third and fourth.
All four schools qualified for the Southern Section championship tournament which will be held Nov. 3 in Solvang.
Dana Hills coach Phil Wilburton said this is the best that the Dolphins have done since the CIF started basing the final score on five, not four, players.
“Avery and Elizabeth are the anchors of this team, but one through five we have been really solid,” Wilburton said. “This is a good group of girls that gets along so well. Everyone supports everyone else. I would have liked to have seen some of our scores a bit lower, but overall on a par 74 course, this is great. They have exceeded my expectations this season.”
The North course proved to be quite a challenge for the 149 girls in the field as only four players finished under par, and Northwood senior Tracey Kim was one of them. Both Kim and Brea Olinda freshman Amy Lee posted the lowest score of the day, a 3-under-par 71.
“This is amazing. It is really unexpected. You come here to do your best, but you don’t really expect to win,” Kim said. “I feel like today my short game was on, and if that is on, your game will come together. This is a challenging course, and it has some tricky lies.”
Valley Christian of Cerritos sophomore Stephanie Lau and Canyon junior Elisabeth Bernabe were the only other players to come in under par, shooting a 72 and 73 respectively.
Bernabe had a chance to also finish with a 71, walking onto the tee of the par-3 17th 3-under par, but she four-putted the hole, and dropped back to 1-under.
“I hit my first putt with too much confidence, and it went like this far by,” she said holding her hands far apart. “And then I missed the next one, so yeah, I am disappointed.”
Especially since that happened after she turned in one of the best shots of the day on the par-5 16th. She hit a lob wedge 50 yards onto the green, and when the ball stopped rolling, it was less than 2 feet from the pin. She tapped in for a birdie to drop to 3-under par. Bernabe birdied three of the four par fives on that back nine.
“Everything was going really well (until 17),” she said. “But it is OK, 1-under is still pretty good.”
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RESULTS
At Los Serranos Country Club, North Course, par 74
1. Northwood, 418; 2. Dana Hills, 420; 3. Brea Olinda, 424; 4. Mater Dei, 426; 5. Troy, 430; 6. Beckman, 448; 7. University, 449; 8. Tesoro, 450; 9. Santa Margarita, 453; 10. Trabuco Hills, 460;
11t. Valencia, 462; 11t. Canyon, 462; 13. Cypress, 464; 14. Aliso Niuel, 465; 15. Yorba Linda, 467; 16. El Toro, 469; 17. Marina, 472; 18. Orange Lutheran, 472; 19. Laguna Hills, 477; 20. Ayala, 482; 21t. Valley Christian/Cerritos, 489; 21t. Foothill, 489; 23. Esperanza, 508; 24. Highland, 530; 25. Loara, 579.
