With sweat gleaming on their faces, the team strived against the heat and after several hours of non-stop rounds, the game to an end.
Putting in years of unfaltering enthusiasm, boys golf advanced to (CIF), and after 14 years, brought home a win.
According to OC Varsity, boys golf posted a 1-under-par 359 on Monday at Talega Golf Club to win the CIF-SS South Coast Regional.
“When the team went and won CIF, everyone was tired but elated that we were able to bring the title back home after 14 long years,” sophomore Kenny Chung said. “We owe our victory to our hard work and also to the motto that our coach told us at the beginning, that every day ‘We work hard to become better athletes, students and individuals, and when we would stick to it, winning would take care of itself.’”
With the desire to win CIF, boys golf spent countless hours preparing for this competition. Despite the pressure to compete against other schools, the team was able to persevere with the coach’s support.
“It was one of our many goals to win CIF, and we’ve practiced at least an hour
to two hours every day,” senior and captain Hidetoshi Yoshihara said. “It was good to see all our hard work pay off.”
Yoshihara said he believes the reason the team won CIF was because of its communication and the coach’s strong dedication.
“We definitely had skilled players on our team, [and] we were able to play well on the golf course,” Yoshihara said. “I think it was more of the passion; that was one of the main reasons why we won CIF.”
As captain, Yoshihara emphasized the efforts that he, as well as the other captains -senior Nicholas Kumamoto and junior
Joseph Chun – put in to manage the team and lead them to finals.
“The last time we won CIF was in 2002,” Yoshihara said. “For the past two years, not winning CIF really motivated me to work harder, not only individually but also as a team.”
Yoshihara finished 3rd at the State Semifinals on May 26 and has qualified for the CIF Boys Golf State Championship as the first Warrior to play for this event.
According to Coach Tracy Roberts, junior and captain Joseph Chun finished one shot out of the 9th place for the second consecutive year.
“Hide is going to be named the Orange County Player of the Year and Joseph will be named All-County for the second time,” Roberts said.