By Mia Potamianos , Jenna Vespi and Jamie Boeheim
Staff Writers
The Jamesville-DeWitt Varsity Girls Golf team had an outstanding year as they swung their way to a record of 14-1. The team took their only loss from their biggest rival, Christian Brothers Academy. Captains of the team, seniors Junghye Kim and Alanna Jones, both had successful seasons and qualified for states at SUNY Delhi on June 12-14. The team placed third at sectionals which took place at Canaan Valley on May 19 and Kim placed first as an individual.
To achieve such success, the team set goals that helped them stay on track during the season, they achieved their goals by “coming together and working to do their best,” said freshman Abby Baumgartner. Also, “we all got along really well and all the seniors help everyone who needs it,” said sophomore Zoe Pippins. This shows another of Jones’s goals was reached. “As a captain I really wanted to help the younger girls grow as new golfers,” said Jones. “I wasn’t really there to go undefeated or win sectionals, I just wanted to make sure that we gave the girls the best experience possible,” she said. “I wanted our team to do really well and for most of the underclassmen to qualify for sectionals,” said Kim. This goal was met when five underclassmen qualified for sectionals, including eighth grader Lena Jones, sophomore Alex Catanzarite, Baumgartner, Pippins, and sophomore Lizzie Redmore.
“The younger girls who just started are actually better than a lot of people would expect them to be,” said Pippins.
Another team goal was to keep their four year undefeated streak, but unfortunately the Rams accepted their first and most painful loss to their biggest competition, CBA on May 7. “I think the seniors were a little bit disappointed but the rest of the team was excited to start a new chapter of the golf era,” said freshman Jungyun Kim.
Another part of their success was their great team chemistry this year and they are already looking forward to next year. “We got along really well and the captains played a big role in that because they made us come together as one. We competed as individuals but we counted as one,” said Baumgartner.
As for individual goals, Jungyun Kim was successful when she achieved her goal of shooting under 45 points three times. Junghye Kim set out to qualify for states which would give her her last chance to play with her CBA friends. Jones also reached her goal and qualified for states at state qualifiers on May 20.