The girls golf team ended their season in the Area 4-AAAA tournament on April 27 with a five stroke loss. The match in the area tournament was a challenge against Maynard, Woodland Carterville, Cass, Allatoona, Dalton and Cartersville who is ranked 50th in the state.
Throughout the post season, the team strived to improve their spirit and mental resilience. Sophomore Morgan Floyd is playing on the golf team for the first time. She has noticed the mental strength of the team grow throughout the year.
“This year I was new to the team but I noticed the team needed to be a little stronger mentally,” Floyd said. “But, as the season progressed, everyone was improving both physically and mentally. It was especially helpful when the captains were positive and able to uplift the rest of the team.”
Last season, the team had six girls. This year, it has grown to 10 consistent players. Senior Emma Sullivan feels that the size of the team is a large reason for the improvement.
“The team has really grown a lot this season since last, both in size, skill and spirit,” Sullivan said. “We had only a few girls last year who actively played, but the commitment this year has been really good and we have at least 10 consistent players who work hard every practice and match to be better. We all are also just a lot closer this year, which has been great because it makes it all feel a lot more fun and a lot less pressure.”
Head coach Issac Taylor says he is proud of the way the girls played. Even though the season ended in area, Taylor feels that the team got better at every practice.
“Obviously our goal was to make it as far as possible,” Taylor said. “With that being said I am very impressed with how everyone played. I know that all of the girls left everything they had on that course. We had some really tough opponents, playing to the best of our abilities is all I asked for. Each girl delivered.”
The regional tournament started on April 27. With hopes of winning the area, the girls fell short with a loss to Dunwoody. Sophomore Maisie Rude hopes that the team continues to play and progresses even through the losses.
“We have gotten a lot better from the start of this year to now,” Rude said. “The team is really young and a lot of us don’t play golf year round, so even though we haven’t won it is really fun and everyone is very uplifting. I hope that even after the loss everyone practices and continues to play in the off season.”
Sullivan believes that the underclassmen and new players have brought a lot of skill and energy to the team this year.
“The younger girls, who are majority sophomores, have been a great addition to the team,” Sullivan said. “They are some of our best players and have really worked to earn their place on the team. Their skills are amazing and it’s been really fun to play with them for the whole season.”
Floyd feels that even the losses this year have been a learning opportunity for the team, and that the team grows with every match.
“We have had some tough losses to teams that we could’ve had a shot at beating,” Floyd said. “But, I think those have really motivated all of us, or at least me, to push harder with practicing and working on my skills. I think the losses are what pushed us to want to perform better, especially at our area tournament.”
Taylor expresses that Pace and Cartersville are the strongest competition. Beating Pace would have allowed the team to progress to the regional tournament.
“Pace has some really good girls,” Taylor said. “Obviously it is hard to compete against private schools. Also, Cartersville is ranked top 50 in the state so it is definitely a challenge when we play them. But, I believe the girls have what it takes to win and everyone on the team knows how to play good golf.”
