Santa Cruz High senior Sigi Allen said she was surprised by her team’s performance to open the 2018 season. In a sport where only the top four scores are recorded, where a team is only as strong as its weakest link, the Cardinals on Sept. 18 enjoyed a round at Seascape Golf Course in which each player shot under 40 across six holes.
Even the one they didn’t use. Santa Cruz sophomore Kamria Karst, who was fifth that day for the Cardinals, shot a 37 — a score any team in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League would gladly accept.
“I definitely knew everyone could play that well,” said Allen, a four-year varsity player who is expected to lead the Cardinals throughout this year. “But it was nice we all did that well in our first match.”
Despite being the SCCAL opener, Santa Cruz’s strong performance showcased not only the depth of the Cardinals this season but also an expected shift in the league order. With Aptos having graduated three seniors from a year ago, including two-time defending league champion Amanda Fort, the SCCAL is likely to have a new team champion for the first time since 2013.
Santa Cruz is one of the favorites to fill that role, especially if it can remain consistent across the second half of the season. Compiling a 132 as a team was an impressive start, to say the least.
And doing so against Aptos, the four-time defending league champion, was definitely a nice boost, Allen said.
“All of us played really well,” said Allen, who medaled that round with a 29. “I think we’re lining up to be pretty good.”
Scotts Valley, led by sophomore Candus Shi and senior Taylor Stevenson, among others, is expected to have a say in how everything ultimately shakes out, of course.
The Falcons last season finished runner-up to Aptos, while Shi shot an 85 during the 18-hole SCCAL championship and placed runner-up to Fort by five strokes.
Allen was third with a 92 for Santa Cruz, which will look to counter Scotts Valley with depth.
“They’re pretty strong 1 through 4,” Harbor coach Scott Bedell said of the Cardinals.
Third-year player Ariela Turzo, a senior who last year placed fifth at the league final, returns for the Cardinals, as does senior Gracie Antrim-Kerr. Sophomores Norhora Diaz and Kamria Karst, whose sister Kayla won the SCCAL title in 2015, are also back in the Santa Cruz lineup.
“We’ve got room to improve, for sure,” Cardinals coach Pete Pappas said. “But I’ve got a good group of girls and they are improving, and that’s what we look for.”
Allen, for one, has improved her all-around game, Pappas said. The senior said she practiced every Saturday with local pro Parker Hammond during the offseason, and she would try and play with friends and teammates as much as she could beyond that.
“And she’s putting pretty good,” Pappas said.
It will take a team effort versus Scotts Valley, though. The Cardinals (2-0) and Falcons (2-0) play against each other for the first time Tuesday at DeLaveaga Golf Course.
Scotts Valley, led by Shi, defeated Santa Cruz in two meetings last season.
“Really cool to watch,” San Lorenzo Valley coach Shane Sutcliffe said of Shi, who was named MVP last season as a freshman after earning outright medalist honors six times across seven matches.
In the seventh match, Shi was co-medalist with Fort, who for the second year in a row was the lone player from Santa Cruz County to qualify for the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships.
With only five teams in the league, the SCCAL is one shy of being eligible to qualify a team to CCS, which this season will be held Oct. 30 at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey. And while the league often submits at-large berths for individual competitors, only the league champion is guaranteed a spot.
Shi fell short of joining Fort last year.
“I think she’ll be competing for (the SCCAL title),” Sutcliffe said.
Shi said in January that, during her freshman campaign, she became a stronger and more accurate driver. And in the immediate months following the season, she focused on her short game.
Scotts Valley coach Dave Mills said Shi has matured since last season.
“She understands her golf swing better,” Mills said of Shi, adding that she played a “fair amount” of junior golf this offseason. Shi has medaled both matches for Scotts Valley, posting scores of 28 and 33.
Scotts Valley, like Santa Cruz, is made up of five returning players. Shi is followed by Stevenson, who placed seventh at last year’s league championship and has recorded consecutive sub-40 scores to start this season, including a 33 against Harbor at DeLaveaga Golf Course on Sept. 25.
Juniors Carolyn Burnett, Giselle Ross and Sage Welch also return for the Falcons — all three of whom began as freshmen with little experience, Mills said.
“It’s been great to see their progress, how they’re hitting the ball,” Mills added. “I’m really proud with how the girls have stuck with the game. It’s nice to see their improvement.”
Harbor returns four players from last year’s team and added freshman McKenna Muller to the roster. “She’s really progressing,” Bedell said of Muller, who recorded a 45 in her first match at Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club on Sept. 18.
Seniors Ellis Conover and Janessa Ainsworth are expected to anchor the team. Conover has earned team medalist honors twice through two matches, sharing the honor with junior teammate Lucy Meza one match. Sophomore Daniella Diaz rounds out the Pirates (1-1).
Aptos, under “new old guy” Matt Anderson (he previously coached the team in the early aughts), lost the most talent to graduation last season. But any opponents looking to take advantage of those departures will likely need to act fast.
That’s because the Mariners boast seven players, including five freshmen. Senior returners Italia Riccabona and Sam Castaneda will guide the team.
“We get to build our program,” said Anderson, who takes over for Bill Tsudama. “I think it’s great.”
The newcomers include Rowan Bowyer, Giselle Goyette, Kylie Nelson, Ruby Price and Malia Fort, younger sister to Amanda.
The freshman Fort appears to be cut from the same cloth as her older sister. Malia Fort has already earned team medalist honors twice in three matches for Aptos (1-2), including a 33 in the opener against Santa Cruz.
Bowyer, meanwhile, shot a 39 to earn medalist honors in Aptos’ first win against SLV on Sept. 25.
“Easy to coach. I can work with that,” Anderson said of the freshmen. “But I do have confidence in them. They’re coming in with some pretty good skills, so I’m happy about that.”
SLV, too, has numbers, boasting eight players on its roster. Senior returners Maycie Parmenter and Sierra Mirande, a three-year player who lived in France last year, have each earned team medalist honors across two matches.
The Cougars (0-3) also include senior returner Christina Reason, last year’s No. 2 player, junior Madison Reger, who also competes on the softball team, and juniors Mira Warner and Jordan Austin. Sutcliffe also said he sees potential in Cami Johnson and Ryan Hanning, the latter of whom recorded a 41 against Harbor.
The SCCAL Championship is scheduled for Oct. 23.
PCAL Mission Division
Watsonville will compete in the newly formed Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Mission Division, alongside Alisal, Everett Alvarez, Notre Dame, and league favorites Christopher and North Monterey County.
The Wildcatz are led by second-year coach Steve Martin, whose team last season was all seniors.
This year, they’re all freshmen, each of whom is in their first season playing golf, Martin said. The Wildcatz include Anna Rubio, Sophia Sandoval, Jasmine Serratos, Alejanda Castro, Livier Jimenez and Bianca Ayala.
“I see a lot of potential improvement as the season goes with a new foundation of players building for the future,” Martin wrote in an email.
Monte Vista Christian did not field a team this year.
The PCAL Championship is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Ones to Watch
Girls Golf
Candus Shi, Scotts Valley, So.: Named MVP last season after earning medalist honors in all seven matches
Sigi Allen, Santa Cruz, Sr.: Four-year player placed third at last year’s SCCAL championship
Izzie Mendez, St. Francis, Jr.: Competed as an individual at SCCAL championship last year and placed fourth
Ellis Conover, Harbor, Sr.: Top player for Pirates garnered first team all-league honors last season
Taylor Stevenson, Scotts Valley, Sr.: First team all-league returner scored a 33 in opening match
Malia Fort, Aptos, Fr.: Newcomer has already earned team medalist honors in two of three matches
Maycie Parmenter, SLV, Sr.: Returning player earned team medalist honors for Cougars in opening match
– Andrew Matheson
