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Boys’ golf began the 2nd half of the spring season with a win over Miramonte on April 12. The team has also defeated strong teams from Acalanes, Northgate and De La Salle.

The victory agains the Matadors came in spite of challenging conditions. “I felt like one of our problems was the wind. We weren’t able to take that into consideration. I played as if it were sunny and 75 [degrees] instead of realizing that the wind might move the ball and out shots might be affected. Still, we gave our best, we were in to win and we did,” said senior Jay Thomas.

The Cougars’ current roster includes many new to the varsity team. “We lost 7 seniors, and 3 of the seniors were some of our top varsity players. This year, we have 4 juniors on varsity and only 2 seniors on our entire team,” said Thomas.

“We have a lot of depth. Our number 1 player is a defending NorCal champion, a really strong player,” said coach Steve Robinson. The team’s number 1 player is senior Ryan Bernett, who also serves as a role model for the younger players on the team. “We have a pretty good group. There are 8 freshman, and most of them are on our JV team and are improving rapidly,” added Robinson.

One freshman who made the varsity roster is Hayden Catron, who has been playing golf for 7 years.

With such a young roster, the team is excited for things to come. “We could improve. We haven’t really played to our potential, but I think we are doing pretty well,” said Catron. He added that the whole team has room to grow. “We are winning most of the matches, but in tournaments we could be playing a little better,” said Catron.

“Our problem right now is that we have 6 guys that can all play really well, break 80 and shoot around par potentially. We haven’t all been able to do it [shot under par] at once yet. If we can do that, I think we can make a pretty good run,” said Thomas. The team has just 3 weeks left in the regular season to make the necessary adjustments in order to be firing on all cylinders for the post season.

“Our goal is to make it to NorCal championships for the 3rd time in the last 4 years, but it is really difficult. There are only 3 teams that make it. We were fortunate enough to go last year but we lost 3 good seniors so it’s going to be a challenge to get there this year,” said Robinson.

Thomas is optimistic. Although the team dynamic has changed, he sees the character as similar to the the past season.”I feel like everybody on our team has a great work ethic and everyone really cares about this season. That is what I really like about it. It is also really a continuation of last season,” he said.