After clinching the league title by defeating the Walnut High School Mustangs on Oct. 9, the Diamond Bar High School girls golf team was unable to repeat its success last Thursday, losing 205-202. As a result of its first loss, DBHS will have to share the league championship with the Mustangs. This brings its record to 18-1 and league record to 11-1.
Senior co-captain Kristie Yang led DBHS with a three over par performance of 38 in addition to the 41 scored by sophomores Joan Park and Bethany Wu. Senior co-captain Isabelle Shee, sophomore Josephine Chang, and freshman Katlyn Shee also scored 43, 42, and 44, respectively, to round out the DBHS team. “I didn’t play as well as I could have. I made mistakes that should not have been made but was still able to shoot under 40,” Yang commented.
Coach Tony McCabe attributes this loss to the fatigue of the Lady Brahmas. They have played for 17 straight days and almost three times as much as Walnut.
McCabe was cautious going into the match against WHS. “It’s their home course and they’re really good. We just seem to beat them, but they beat us earlier in the year. If you don’t play well today, your team will lose and putting will be everything,” McCabe said. The Lady Brahmas were able to stage a late game comeback in their previous victory against the Mustangs but were unable to fight their way back this time. This defeat also marks the end of the team’s 62 consecutive dual match victories.
Wu was recently announced the Hacienda League MVP after a five under par performance at the CIF Qualifiers. Isabelle Shee also took second place in the league finals making first team all-league in addition to Park, Katlyn Shee, and Yang. All five players also qualified for CIF Individuals.
After a strong showing in the playoffs last year, McCabe fully expects the team to make the state finals. With Shee, Yang, and Wu leading the team, the Lady Brahmas have some of the top players in the state competing. However, there are many teams just as good as DBHS such as Palm Desert, Troy, and Walnut High School. “Our divisional is the most difficult by far. It’s almost unfair how easy the other ones are and how tough ours became,” McCabe commented.