Lina Kwon
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls golf team was unable to drive further into the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs after losing to teams from Walnut, Mater Dei and Diamond Bar High School.
Costa placed seventh out of 20 teams in the CIF Team Championship Tournament on Oct. 10 at Los Robles Greens Golf Course. The Mustangs scored 423, which was not low enough to place the team in the Southern California Golf Association State Qualifier. In order to advance to the CIF State Qualifiers as a team, Costa needed to break 402, according to coach Tom Cox.
“Yesterday wasn’t our day and I don’t think anyone played particularly well yesterday,” Cox said. “The bright side is that we did win Bay League this season and we still have an individual state championship coming up.”
The championship team consisted of freshman Juliae Shoda, sophomores Erica Skinner, Isabella Walker and Shani Waite, junior Klara Nagy and senior Delilah Gunn. Costa competed against other competitive teams from Peninsula, Walnut, Westlake and Harvard Westlake High School.
“Today was a very emotional day for Team Costa, knowing that it could be our last varsity match of the year,” Nagy said.
Nagy led the team with an eight-over-par 78, the lowest score of the day, by shooting two birdies and eight pars. She was later backed up by Gunn with a score of 82. Waite followed with a score of 84 by shooting one birdie, one eagle and several pars throughout the course.
“During the tournament, I let my mind get to me and instead of playing smooth and collective, I played scared,” Waite said. “On Thursday, I am going to only focus on my game. I know I can play well, and I’m ready to show it again.”
Walker completed the tournament with an 89 with her drives and putts consistent. Shoda scored a 90 with a few pars and Skinner shot four pars out of 18 holes, leading to a final score of 93.
“Today my play was average overall, as I shot well on the front but gained many strokes on the back 9,” Walker said. “Looking back on the progress I’ve made this season, I’m ready for the 2018 season.”
The top two teams Walnut (358) and Harvard Westlake (368) handily kept their scores in 300s, while other teams struggled to break a 400. The top scorer from Walnut led the team to victory with an individual score of 66, which was the lowest score of the tournament. Costa would’ve had to play at their very best to have gotten third place, said Cox.
“I know we’re capable of shooting a 400 as a team, and I do feel like there’s a future for these girls to play better next year,” Cox said. “This is the end of our season as a team, and we had a very successful season this year.”
Nagy and Waite will play in an individual league in the CIF-WSCGA Individual Championship on Nov. 2 at River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard. The top 28 individual players will advance to the CIF-WSCGA Foundation Southern California Girls’ Golf Championship on Nov. 9 at Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside.
“Both of the girls are capable enough to place in the tournament tomorrow,” Cox said. “They’ve been playing their best this season and if they play the way they’ve been playing, I think they’ll have a really good chance at advancing to State Qualifier.”
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