Girls Golf Preview

Summary:
Both local schools had unusual seasons on the links. Lompoc which had enjoyed success in recent years, in no small measure due to the Heath sisters (Julia begins play with CP-SLO on the 15th), had a season where almost nothing went right. The big news at Cabrillo was that for the first time they had a season.

Both squads this year demonstrate a basic concept from art class - Yellow (Gold) & Blue make green. They have some talent, but are very young and inexperienced


Lompoc limped across the finish line with only a few remaining players, three to be exact. One of those players was Sarrah Jones (left). A fairly new recruit to the game, she was able to improve enough to qualify for the All-LPL First Team. However, Sarrah graduated last spring, and instead of plying the greens for the Braves, she is spending the fall working to become a CNA en route to an RN.
The other two - Julieta Solis & Jocelyn Caudillo, were both freshmen and Jocelyn was injured (wrist) most of the fall. Both have been working hard over the summer and should provide a solid core for the Braves for a few more years.
Coach Tom Garrard has managed to rebuild the participation numbers somewhat this fall, but he is still on the lookout for new talent. He has recieved reinforcements in the form of senior Betty Sullivan and soph Kaleigh Goethe. Goethe is a transfer from Airport HS in Michigan and has some golf experience. Sullivan backed up Chelsea Casullo at basketball center & throwing the shot as a junior. Garrard notes that she also has played some softball and more importantly that "she's an athlete".
How good will the Braves be ? Better !

Cabrillo is facing an existence without the founder of the program and the best golfer in the history of the team. True, that history only extends back to last year. Kellie George (left), tired of participating as an individual, created a team as her senior project- finding players, equipment, a coach, and funding. She also played well enough (mostly under 50 for 9 holes) to secure a place on the All-LPL first team.
The players she recruited were mostly underclassmen with little experience - good for the long term, maybe not so good for this year. The coach, Gini Shekell, helped guide Gabby Hott, Marissa Merrick, Paige Hurlbut, Chani Clark, and Jade Stevens to solid and mostly consistent performances, but have the youngsters improved enough ? And who are the leaders ?

Los Padres League:
There are four other teams competing in the LPL: St Joseph, Santa Ynez, Morro Bay, and Santa Maria. Last year St. Joe & SY were the teams that advanced to the CIF playoffs. The Knights had two first team [Marlee Mier (Sr), Danielle Gillaspy (Sph)] and two second team [Christy Mahan, Ahna Dunn - both Jrs] members on the All-LPL squad. Sophomore Cloe Dunn also scored consistently for St. Joe.
Maddison Shean (Soph) and Sarah Sanger led the Pirates and were also on the first team. Kayla Scheaffer ( LPL 2nd tm), Annie Frederickson, and Nichole Abiad were solid. Santa Ynez also recieved tournament contributions from Veronica Ortiz, Meredith Stewart, Sine Kelley, & Elena Herrera.
Morro Bay placed four linksters on the All-LPL team (1 1st, 3 2nd). The first teamer was their big gun - senior McKenna Corriea. Dawn Williams, Emily Walsh, Shanna Crawford were on the 2nd. And Katie Clough, Kailey Langston, Jill Steinman, and Alexus Abel provided depth.


Santa Maria's Jackie Teniente was the lone Saint rep on the All-LPL squad, but Gretel Corsa, Ashley Cook, M'recia Montes, Donna Olivera, and Amanda Silva provided consistent backup with occasional help from Yesenia Lopez.



Outlook: Expect St. Joseph to repeat as league champs by out battling Santa Ynez and possibly Morro Bay. Young, and inexperienced teams from Lompoc and Cabrillo will be competitive but are likely a year or two away.





The Teams

Lompoc
Julieta Solis (10)
Jocelyn Cauillo (10)
Betty Sullivan (12)
Kaleigh Goethe (10)
Ali Wilson (12)
Jericha Garcia (11)
Anna Clark (12)
Brittany Kowalewski (11)

Cabrillo
Blanco, Sarah (10)
Culley, Jamie (11)
Fuller, Taylor (10)
Hall, Mariah (9)
Hott, Gabrielle (10)
Hurlbut, Paige (11)
Justice, Tiffany (10)
Lopez, Brianna (10)
Merrick, Marissa (10)
Salm, Morgan (9)
Stevens, Jade (10)
Strange, Lacy (10)
Tejada, Isabel (9)

The Schedule


The schedule consists of three parts - the preseason, league head-to-head round robin, and league tournaments hosted by each school - with the possibility of CIF action as part four.

In the preseason:
Lompoc travels to Paso Robles (4 Sep), hosts Righetti (9 Sep), and travels to Atascadero (11 Sep) and Cabrillo (17 Sep) in a non-league contest. Cabrillo takes on AG & SY in a three-way at Cypress Ridge (4 Sep), Plays in the Pirate Invitational at Alisal (8 Sep), Meets SY & Righetti in another three-way at Alisal (11 Sep), and hosts the Braves at VCC (17 Sep).


The round robin portion is interspersed between the League Tournaments on Thursdays. [Dates are for Lompoc/Cabrillo matches - others may be different]
1) [9/29] SY @ Lompoc, Cabrillo @ St Joe, MB @ SM
2) [10/6] Lompoc @ SM, Cabrillo @ MB, SY @ StJ
3) [10/15]Lompoc @ Cabrillo, MB @ StJ, SM @ SY
4) [10/20]Lompoc @ MB, [10/22] SY @ Cabrillo, StJ @ SM
5) [10/27]StJ @ Lompoc, [10/29] SM @ Cabrillo, MB @ SY


The Tournaments
1) 9/25 @ Rancho Maria (StJ)
2) 10/02 @ Village CC (Cab)
3) 10/09 @ La Purisima GC (Lom)
4) 10/16 @ Morro Bay GC (MB)
5) 10/23 @ Alisal Ranch [River] (SY)
6) 10/30 @ Cypress Ridge GC (SM)

Tomorrows Match-ups

Cabrillo travels to Cypress Ridge in AG to take on both AG & SY so the Conqs should find out where they stand fairly early. Starters back from last year are Hott, Merrick, Hurlbut, & Stevens.

Lompoc takes the trip up to Hunter ranch to take on the usually tough Paso Robles Bearcats. The Braves starters will likely be Solis, Caudillo, Sullivan, Goethe, and possibly Wilson - or as the coach said (only partly in jest) "whoever isn't afraid to tee off".
---el stato