On Thursday March 19, the Lopez boys’ golf club lost to Friday Harbor boys’ golf 241 to 271 in one of the first golf games of the season. It was a shotgun start for both the boys and the girls’ groups: the Lopez boys’ team teed off at the first hole while the Friday Harbor boys’ team teed off at the fourth hole. The Lopez girls played against the Friday Harbor girls as well, but because the Lopez girls’ team did not have enough players to create a team (there must be five players on each team), the Lopez girls played individually against the Friday Harbor girls’ team.

During the Thursday match, the Friday Harbor boys’ team won the day but individual scorers for the boys’ team on Lopez did well. Colton Jardine came in with a 46, Josh Cook with 51, Kevin Dengler with 52, and Alex Cook with 53.

“While we didn’t win overall, the boys’ scores alone show that they are focusing on the game and building on a skill set they’ve worked on for several years now. I consider this a great start for both teams,” Coach Richard Tetu said.

In individual scoring for the Lopez girls’ team, Emily Post Van der Berg took the girls’ medal by shooting a 48. This was a qualifying score for quad-district play, along with Sydney Hoffman and Helen O’Brien, who both qualified with 53’s. Jardine qualified as well with a score of 46.

Coach Richard Tetu commented, “All of our new players have so much depth right now; they have never played before and they’re already shooting in the 70’s. While that doesn’t sound great, consider that Hannah Hobi and Moira Crawford, Dana Cram and Vilina Sanburn-Bill had double boogies on a hole for young people who have never played a match before, who don’t know the rules that well, and it was their very first time out on a golf course. We have four kids qualified already, and hopefully they will start piling it on.”

Lopez played Highland Christian on Tuesday as well in their first away game of the season. The Highland Christian golf club has no girls’ team, therefore there was no girls’ match. However, girls’ groups can play and qualify individually in these scenarios. Post Van der Berg shot a 61 on Tuesday.

“We lost to their boys on Tuesday, not by a huge margin,” said Coach Tetu. “Our boys did well for their first day out. No one had a qualifying score that day. Most guys shot in the low 50’s and two of the Highland Christian players shot a 37 and a 39, so it was good for our boys to see golf played well; it was a good lesson.

“We have six straight home matches after the Orcas game which is played on March 24 at Orcas. Orcas has lots of players who have played often and for many years with a coach who is very experienced and who is a certified professional. The kids go there and know that they will get schooled. You go and have a great match, and the two teams get along really well. I get along with Robbie (Olmsted) really well. They have fun but they also learn a lot about golf.”