Acorns taking their game more seriously; SHS ushers first
team
SAN JOSE — The way she described it, Paige Flores was just a baby in 2007 when she represented Live Oak at the Tri County Athletic League Championships as a freshman.
“In was just having fun. That’s it,” Flores, now a seasoned junior, said Thursday at Coyote Creek Golf Club.
Flores and her teammates want to enjoy the same kind of fun this year but in a different, dead-serious way. Hoping to maximize their potential, the Lady Acorns practiced with a more rigid work ethic this offseason.
“We’re pushing ourselves to improve,” said Rachel Chenoweth, one of two seniors on the team.
The result: Live Oak placed an impressive fifth in the 10-team TCAL preseason jamboree and has won three of its first four league matches.
On average, the Acorns’ best finishers are shooting low 50s and high 40s. That means the team is cutting off scores in the high 50s; only the top four tallies count in the team score.
Last year, Live Oak was throwing out 60s and 70s.
“That says a lot,” Live Oak coach Mike Rubino said. “Things are going a lot better this year. We have a lot of hard workers. Our goal is to not pull any scores out.”
Like their opponents, the Acorns are chasing Flores, who typically finishes in the high 40s. Flores has at least tied for the best score among Live Oak golfers in each league match. The rest of Live Oak’s scorers rotate between senior Katie Lowrey, Chenoweth and sophomores Olivia Lastra, Jennifer Schwegler and Brittany McCaw.
“Paige is definitely our number one,” Chenoweth said. “She does take it seriously, but she’s still very nice about it. If you make a mistake, she tries to help you. She has fun with it.”
Flores is trying to improve her own game as well. Her goal is to finish in in the high 30s.
“I’ve improved a lot,” she said. “I take golf more seriously now and see it from a different view. I used to not know what I was doing. When I messed up a shot, I didn’t know why. I had to go to coach. This year, I take a lot more after myself.”
Flores and the other upperclassmen have made a point to nurture the team’s younger players.
Who better?
“We want to lecture them in a happy way,” Flores said. “Like if they have a bad shot and are all bummed about it, you have to remind them that’s one shot out of the next hundred. You need to stay positive.”
Rubino is having no trouble doing that. Though he does not have a team goal in mind, he sees his Acorns going far if they continue playing to their potential.
“I’d just like them to do as good as they can,” he said. “For their abilities and where come form in a nongolfing community and playing against country-club schools, we’re just happy to be competitive. We’re off to a pretty good start.”
Sobrato has its first girls golf team this fall, and it’s a group that’s been laying a solid foundation since in its first team meeting in May.
“We had a lot of girls show up. I was surprised,” said Jeff Bernstein, who also coaches Sobrato’s boys team in spring. “Some have dropped off since then, but we have 13 right now. That’s a pretty good turnout.”
The team is led by its consistent top finisher, freshman Jordan Maharaj, who typically shoots in the low 50s and high 40s. The Lady Bulldogs feature several multisport talents, including track and soccer standout Marissa Benjamin and softball player Emilie Nuñez, whom Bernstein said is a year from being a “darn good player.” On her best day, senior Alisha Hopkins had finished in the high 50s.
“For the most part, they’re new to golf,” Bernstein said. “They wanted to try something new. Some of the girls even joined the team because they want to be business majors in college.
“Our No. 1 goal is to enjoy the game and get better.”
Playing in the newly minted girls golf division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Sobrato has made progress against conference foes Los Gatos, Lincoln, Saratoga, Lynbrook, Evergreen Valley and Leland.
“Our first match lasted almost three hours. It was pretty rough,” Bernstein said. “But they played so much better last time. We had a birdie and a couple pars.”
