Katie O’Brien, Marissa Gutierrez sign letters to play golf at
Sonoma State
Hollister
San Benito seniors Katie O’Brien and Marissa Gutierrez took their first college exam recently without ever setting foot in a lecture hall.
Not necessarily the right approach to passing any such college-level test, the two Lady ‘Balers, on two separate occasions, played a couple holes of golf with the Sonoma State University coaching staff.
At stake? Well, just a spot on the team and a partial scholarship.
No pressure.
“That was the most pressure I’ve been under in my whole my life,” Gutierrez said.
“It was very intimidating,” O’Brien said. “But the coaches made it comfortable for me.”
The two San Benito golfers, who were the lone Lady ‘Balers to compete at the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships in Carmel last year, signed letters of intent to play for Sonoma State in the fall.
With approximately 50 witnesses at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club on Wednesday, O’Brien and Gutierrez signed on the dotted line.
Needless to say, they aced the exam.
“I felt more comfortable with the coaches at Sonoma,” Gutierrez said as to why she signed with the Rohnert Park university. “The campus was beautiful, the coaches have done nothing but comfort me, and what better way to go to college than with a best friend.”
The two will be on rather similar schedules at SSU, as both O’Brien and Gutierrez will be rooming together, playing for the golf team, and majoring in kinesiology.
“I thought it was the best opportunity for me because I want to see how far I can take golf,” O’Brien said. “And the school is really nice, which made it even better.
“I think if I was going by myself, I’d be more nervous. Now I’ll be more relaxed.”
The two will be under the guidance of SSU head coach Val Verhunce, who’ll be entering his second season at the helm for the Seawolves.
San Benito coach Chris Branon, though, said based on their abilities as golfers, he was not surprised by the signings.
“They have no idea how good they can be with practice,” he said. “The road for both of them is very, very good. And the other thing is that they’re best friends. They’re like two sisters.
“The coach (at SSU) is gonna have two very talented girls on his team.”
With the college application process complete, the Sonoma State duo can now simply work on their game prior to the fall season.
O’Brien thanked all her family, friends and coaches, and especially coach Branon, she said. “Thank you to my parents and I love them,” she added.
Gutierrez expressed similar sentiments, thanking her parents for their support, as well as her friends and coach Branon. “Without any of those people, going to Sonoma would not be possible,” she said.
After O’Brien and Gutierrez carded respective scores of 86 and 79 at the CCS tournament last fall, a rather clairvoyant Branon perhaps saw Wednesday’s signing as somewhat of an inevitability.
“Hopefully, this is good motivation. Their high school career is over, but it’s a chance to start a new career,” Branon said after the CCS tournament in October. “They both did very well. When they look back, playing with not only Division I athletes and however many (future) LPGA members, because you definitely have some here who’ll make that next step, those are good motivation numbers.
“Both (scores) are not as low as they could have been, but both (scores) are low enough to say, ‘I don’t want to quit.’ This could be the start of a new career.”
Said Branon on Wednesday, “One stage is past and another is coming ahead.”
