New Season, New Team for Girl’s Golf

By Jimmy Cho, Staff Writer

The girl’s golf team has changed drastically with the loss of four seniors who were all in the starting lineup. In the upcoming years, the girl’s golf team will work to be a powerhouse as this season develops and they improve their golf game in team play.

The team has added some underclassmen to their roster, who they hope will contribute to the team in the future.

Julia Friedman (‘22), who plays in the number-one position for long-time EC coach Bob Cvitanov, is optimistic about her team’s future.

“Without last year’s seniors, we lack experience,” she said. “But we are now a younger team that is going to get better.” 

Cvitanov’s goal for the new players this year is to have the fundamentals of golf mastered and a solid starting lineup. Cvitanov is less worried about winning than about growing as a team so they can win matches in the future.

Junior Bryn Kirkpatrick (’21) agrees.

“Our team this year is mainly made up of [under]classmen who are just starting golf,” she said after a recent match versus Rio.

“Our goal as a team is to have everyone gain more knowledge and be comfortable on the golf course.” Kirkpatrick continued.

In the match at Ancil Hoffman Golf Course, El Camino fielded a team of four players instead of the customary six. Typically the top five scores count against the team’s total.

Since the team’s main goal this year is to grow and help the new members, the returning team members have their own personal goals for the season—they are seeing improvement and looking toward 2020 as the ultimate team goal for 2019. 

Friedman is focusing on her mental game.

“I want to gain more confidence in my golf swing and have a better mindset on and off the course,” Friedman said.

“I would also love to get MVP this year.” she added.

As for Kirkpatrick, she is going to use her match scores to measure progress.

“My personal goal this year is to be shooting 45 or lower consistently and become a better golfer, in general, to have a stiffer competition next season,” she said.

This season is a transition season to help the new team members gain experience and bond as a team.