Falcons do it again: Girls golf wins both districts and regionals

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The Falcons Varsity Girls’ Golf Team poses with their 2014 Regional Championship Trophy. Left to right: Vanessa Yan ‘17, Natalie Pleyerova ‘15, Michelle Yan ‘16, Kendall Miller ‘18 and Nupur Mathur ‘16

Devon Sullivan, News and Sports Editor

It was a bright and sunny day on the morning of the regional championships. After demolishing their district competitors by 31 strokes, Falcons Natalie Pleyerova (’15), Michelle Yan (‘16), Nupur Mathur (‘16), Vanessa Yan (‘17), and Kendall Miller (’19), entered the regional championship as a team not to be reckoned with. Regionals was a battle fought long and hard, resulting in Saint Stephen’s prevailing over St. John Neumann by a single stroke. With their hearts set on breaking personal records and helping their team advance onto state competition, the falcon powerhouse utilized their golf skills and mental fortitude, seeking low scores and ultimately achieving victory.

Preparing for success on the golf course was no easy task, but these four players are no newcomers to preparation in their passions. To familiarize themselves with the course and gain an advantage during the regional match, each player worked to ready themselves. Michelle Yan explained, “Our team went down earlier to try out the course. We put in a lot of effort to prepare for this tournament.”

Mathur received individual attention from her coach to reach high success in the regional competition. “I practiced a lot with my coach, working on all my weak areas. Putting and chipping, my short game.”

The team is fundamentally sound, strong mentally, and their athleticism put them at a higher caliber than that of their competitors. However, this isn’t to say that the match was easy. Michelle Yan said, “We were just trying to play our best and we were just trying to win again, because we were champions last year. We were trying to maintain that legacy.”

Rather than maintaining, they went above and beyond their expected success. After winning the Donald Ross (a nationally known golf tournament), excelling in District play, and scoring first place in regionals, it’s fair to say that the title was rightfully earned. These golfers, however, value the importance of their scores and accolades for more than just their personal statistics. The mindset of a golfer is heavily dependent upon what their score is counting for. Yan explains that there is definitely an added pressure for her when golfing for the Falcons rather than for herself. “Knowing that your score will not only affect yourself individually but also the team as a whole, the chances of advancing to the next, be it regionals or states… it really puts a lot of pressure on the player.”

Michelle Yan excelled under the Regional Championship’s pressure, as she had a six-shot improvement during 2014 regional play than when she was a sophomore last season. Mathur, as well, has developed her game this year and has grown in importance to the team. She used to be the fifth player on the four-girl squad, so her scores wouldn’t count towards Saint Stephen’s performance in competitive district, regional or state circuits. However, she’s become an integral part of the team and helped the Falcons soar over their competition.
Although the season may be over for this year, the golf team sure has finished strongly. The Falcons recently went to the state tournament and placed tenth in all of Florida, maintaining Saint Stephen’s statewide prestige on the golf course. For having such a young team, including an eighth grader, freshman and sophomore, the future of the Falcon’s on the golf course is looking bright. It is expected that this legacy is only just beginning, and should continue after senior Natalie Pleyerova and juniors Nupur Mathur and Michelle Yan graduate.