BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
The Sharyland High boys and girls golf teams preformed extraordinarily well at the Valley View ISD Invitational.
The tournament was crucial because it is the last before the district tournaments. It was even more important for teams from District 31-5A, because it’s the same course they will play on for district.
The Sharyland High girls team, in particular, had a great showing. The Sharyland A team came in first in the team standings with a two-day score of 639, toping second-place Sharyland Pioneer’s 757 by 118 strokes. The Sharyland B team was just behind Pioneer with a score of 785.
“It helps to play this course before district,” Sharyland High coach Fernando Rodriguez said. “This is the second time we played it. They played really well, considering the conditions on Friday.”
Friday’s competition was marred by heavy winds. The gusts of wind were blowing at up to 35 miles per hour.
Teams had been hoping to get accustomed to the new out-of-bounds line at this tournament. The line was moved in on the left side of the course. The wind on Friday was blowing right to left, the new boundaries even more restrictive.
The wind also had an effect on the short game and on putting. The winds dried out the greens, making them firm, which makes the ball go faster.
Saturday, the conditions were much better, and it showed in the scores.
Sharyland has a young team, devoid of any seniors. The Rattlers have plenty of experience with juniors Laura Rodriguez and Raquel Flores, who were on last year’s team that came in second at regionals and fourth at state.
“Laura and Raquel have been playing the leadership role, and the other girls have fed off of that,” Fernando Rodriguez said.
The leader of the B team was sophomore Gabriella Ozuna, whose two-day score of 176 was good for sixth place overall.
“She’s been a big surprise this year,” Fernando Rodriguez said. “She has definitely improved from last year. Last year, she was struggling big time, and this year, she has had a complete turnaround. She is constantly practicing and trying to improve her game.”
STRIKING DISTANCE
Sharyland Pioneer coach Susan Lopez was definitive about the girls team’s play at the Valley View Invitational.
“We did not play our best golf,” she said.
There is good and bad to that. Of course, Lopez would rather get the bad round now, as opposed to during the district tournament. But, with two weeks to go, there isn’t a lot of time for refinement.
“Friday’s wind really affected everybody,” Lopez said. “And then Saturday, their putting was off. We did not play to our potential.”
One person who did play well for Pioneer was junior Maria Guajardo. Guajardo shot a two-day 163, good for fifth place.
“I’m very happy with her performance,” Lopez said. “She went even on the back nine, the second day. That just shows that the hard work that she is putting into her game is going to pay off.”
The biggest thing Lopez wants Guajardo and the rest of the Diamondbacks to focus on is the short game.
“I know from my experience that the short game is going to either make us or break us,” Lopez said. “So that is where we are going to spend a lot of our time, everything from 100 yards in.”
The team is focused on being one of the top two teams at district, which would qualify it for a repeat trip to regionals.
MENTAL GAME
The Sharyland High boys team also took first, but hot on its tails was Mission Veterans. Sharyland had a score of 630. Mission Veterans was the only other team in the 600s, with a score of 686.
The senior duo of Aaron Martinez and Diego Hernandez led the way for the Patriots.
Martinez and Hernandez have been playing golf together for years.
Martinez came in third at the Valley View Invitational with a two-day score of 155. He was just one shot behind Sharyland High’s Victor Rodriguez.
Hernandez shot a 162, giving him a sixth-place finish.
Mission Veterans also has a player coming back who could make a difference at the district tournament. Andres Lopez was forced to miss the Valley View tournament because of an illness.
“He will be ready for district,” Mission Veterans coach Jorge Longoria said. “He’s a guy that shoots in the low 80s, upper 70s. We are expecting him to step up for us, now that he is healthy.”
Longoria says the focus now is on the mental game.
“We don’t want to be thinking about who else is playing or how they are doing,” Longoria said. “We are focused on our next shot, our play. That’s all we can control.”
Hernandez, who played quarterback for the football team, is the clubhouse leader in mental toughness. If he has a rival, it’s Martinez.
The two are never rattled, and that demeanor has spread to the rest of the team, as well.
“If we can keep our mental game sharp, and make sure we sink our putts, I think we will be ok,” Longoria said.