As the season comes to a close, the Paly golf team continues to surpass expectations despite the struggles the team originally encountered.
According to junior captain Bob Zhu, the consistency of the players and their ability to improve could be the determining factor in whether or not the team advances through the next round of the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships.
“Our season has been quite a roller coaster. I hope that we can become more consistent as a team since many of our players, myself included, do not play well consistently. If we we’re able to be more consistent next year, we would definitely win leagues again.”
Captain Bob Zhu
The team initially struggled with adjusting to the loss of two of Paly golf team alumni Sergi Matta and Ahmed Ali, who now play Division I golf at University of California, Los Angeles and University of California, San Diego, respectively.
“We were not originally confident with our new team, but with the addition of junior Punn Khamikanist and freshman Jeremy Yun, we made it to the CCS Championships again,” Zhu said.
According to sophomore Anthony Ha, the team has proved its ability to maintain last year’s winning reputation after integrating the new players into the environment, causing supporters to anticipate more victories in the impending CCS Championships.
“To be honest, I did not see our advancement to CCS coming, and I am excited we can play at least one more week. I hope the players will improve so that we have a chance to go to states, but I think our new players have gotten more used to the matches, and feel less pressure.”
Sophomore Anthony Ha
Moving forward, the team will focus on improving each player individually, and determining whether or not they will be able to perform at the next round of CCS.
“It has been a great season with a lot of great players,” Coach Doyle Knight said. “We have improved immensely since the start, and I am really proud of how far we have come. It has been a great season, and I am looking forward to seeing how we place at CCS.”
