As the season ramps up, the Palo Alto High School girls golf team is bouncing back from a 216-223 loss to Gunn High School where they lost with a score of 216-223 on Sept. 9 at the Palo Alto Hills Country Club.

Despite this setback, the girls team has a positive outlook for the season. The team did not lose any players from the previous year, and they gained two experienced freshmen. Junior Stephanie Yu is optimistic about how the team will perform in upcoming league matches.

“Our team is pretty confident about this season,”  Yu said. “We have consistent players across our starting lineup and experience overall, because most of our players are not playing in their first season, and the two freshmen play competitively outside of school, so they don’t lack experience either.”

One of the newest members of the team, freshman Katherine Sung, discussed what it is like being one of the newest members on the golf team.

“It’s fun being on a new team,” Sung said. “I like practicing with other girls who are passionate about golf.”

Sung also shared her ideas on how she believes the team can be successful this season.

“I think that this year we have a very strong team,” Sung said. “I think that if we can all log decent scores in matches, we have a very good chance to win CCS this year. We all really want to make it to States this year, and I think that if we put our heads together and work hard, we can definitely do it.”

In preparation for upcoming tournaments, optional weekend practices as well as weight trainings have been implemented to keep the golfers in top form.

Yu said that the extra workouts are being integrated into the practice regimen for the first time.

“In the past we’ve only had afternoon practices,” Yu said. “Also, this year during the weekends if players have time, we carpool to golf courses that are used for Leagues, Central Coast Section (CCS) and Norcals for preparation.”

During practice, the team has worked on refining their skills and strengthening their techniques. Senior Emily Hwang is intent on applying her skills on the field and hopes the team will improve their skills as well.

“We’ve been focusing on limiting mistakes on the course which has a lot to do with our mental toughness and staying positive when we’re having bad days,” Hwang said.

Looking to future matches, the team’s greatest competition in the past has come from Gunn High School and Lynbrook High School, each of which have each ranked higher in the league than Paly has based on last year’s performance.