At the beginning of the season, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers had
goals of taking second in the Tri-County Athletic League and
advancing to the Central Coast Section finals as a team.
Hollister – At the beginning of the season, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers had goals of taking second in the Tri-County Athletic League and advancing to the Central Coast Section finals as a team.
With just two weeks remaining in the season, both goals are still within striking distance for the Lady ‘Balers, who took second place at the TCAL North group play on Tuesday at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club.
San Benito shot a 222 and placed second behind Salinas’ 186 on holes 2-10 of the Gabilan Course at Ridgemark.
The remaining three teams, Gilroy, Live Oak and Everett Alvarez, finished well behind both Salinas and San Benito, carding team scores of 249, 254 and 255, respectively.
With three group plays now complete in the TCAL North, and with one remaining on Oct. 18 at Ridgemark, the Lady ‘Balers sit tied for fourth place with Pacific Grove and behind third-place Salinas, second-place Santa Catalina and first-place Stevenson.
While the points double at the TCAL finals on Oct. 22, leaving an opportunity for San Benito to vault itself into second place, the points have no influence on whether or not the Lady ‘Balers advance to the CCS tourney.
That’s dependent on San Benito’s performance solely at the TCAL finals.
But the TCAL standings may have been on the minds of the Lady ‘Balers Tuesday at Ridgemark, and perhaps added “some internal pressure,” coach Chris Branon said.
“And you can’t have that in golf,” Branon added. “Pressure is the worst thing you can put on yourself in golf.”
While Salinas’ Keegan Dominquez medaled the round with a 41, San Benito’s Marissa Gutierrez was just three strokes behind her with a 44. Sophomore Katie Moeller took a 62 to the clubhouse, with freshmen Lashea Dailey carded a 59. Both Amanda Frey and Jenny Glosser recorded a 58, while freshmen Nicole Rianda shot a 65.
“It was not the best day by any means,” Branon said. “They all have improved, just the freshmen alone to qualify.”
At this point in the season, practices are limited for San Benito. For instance this week, San Benito held a qualifier on Monday, had group play on Tuesday, will have a qualifier today for their next match Thursday, and will have optional practices on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“… The learning curve of golf,” Branon said, “it’s how you handle that makes you a better golfer.”
On Thursday, the Lady ‘Balers will play a dual match at Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey against Santa Catalina at 3pm.
