Carissa Filice said she couldn’t have asked to work with a better group of student-athletes in her first year as the San Benito High girls golf coach.
“They’re definitely out there to learn and have a good time, and I can say with confidence they’re doing that,” Filice said. “The cool thing about the girls is if you look at our scores, we’ve improved from the beginning of the season.”
And ultimately, that’s what high school sports are all about—athletes improving and developing from the start of the season to the end. The Haybalers entered the week with a 6-7 record in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division, with one regular-season match left before Monday’s league championships.
One of the team’s top highlights came in a narrow 14-stroke loss to Notre Dame-Salinas in which Jamie Kelly and Maggie Campo both shot in the 40s over nine holes, the first time in their careers either golfer had gone sub-50.
Along with Campo, Amy Carvalho and Isabella Arreola have been the team’s top individual scorers this season. Carvalho shot a career-best 51 at San Juan Oaks against Christopher on Oct. 6.
Campo shot a 49, just five days after she went sub-50 against Notre Dame. The Balers have also been receiving solid play from Kelly McCullough, Shannon Maguire and freshman Christina Carvalho, who is Amy’s younger sister.
“I honestly think Christina is going to be shooting in the 40s and maybe even in the 30s by her senior year,” Amy said. “She’s got that much potential. Sometimes in practice she’s better than me, but during a match she gets really nervous. She’s young and she’ll learn to relax, and she’ll be really good. She can hit the ball really far and is probably the longest off the tee on our team.”
While Christina is the future of the team, Amy has been an integral part of the program for the last four years. Steady but not spectacular, Amy has been a strong leader and a positive influence on her teammates.
Knowing her competitive golf career is winding down, Carvalho said she’s simply enjoying every second she’s spending with her teammates during practice and in the matches.
“Playing golf here has been pretty memorable,” she said. “This year has been great because our coaches have helped us out a lot and give us a lot of motivation. Coach has been doing a really good job of keeping our spirits up, even if we’re having a bad day.”
The season has been a breakthrough of sorts for Campo, who had never shot a sub-50 score until doing it twice in a three-week stretch. If Campo continues to improve, a goal of consistently shooting in the 40s next year is not out of the question.
Kelly has come on strong for her senior season, consistently hitting quality shots with her irons and woods. Carvalho has another passion besides golf—raising pigs. Carvalho has shown pigs for the last four years at the San Benito County Fair. She’s actively involved with 4-H, a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture with a mission to develop life skills through a variety of learning programs.
At this year’s San Benito County Fair, Carvalho showed a pig that weighed in at 232 pounds. She bought the pig in June and walked it everyday to prepare herself to walk it in front of the judges at the competition.
“The judges look for how well you control the pig,” Carvalho said. “You try to show all the sides of a pig and make sure to keep eye contact with the judge and maintain a certain posture. The judges also look at your pig to have the right body size and proportions, and making sure it has the right amount of muscle and that it doesn’t have too big hands or shoulders.”
Carvalho sold the pig at an auction, and gets up to $6.50 per pound for however many pounds the pig weighs. A couple of years ago, Carvalho raised a pig that weighed 250 pounds.
Whether it’s on the course or on the farm raising pigs, Carvalho displays pride in both endeavors. She knows things will be tough in the upcoming MBL Championships, which will be played at the Rancho Canada West Course in Carmel. Unlike the regular-season, golfers will play a full 18 holes.
“I played the course once earlier this season, and it was tough,” Carvalho said. “But you look forward to the challenge, and hopefully everyone on the team can play well.”
