Spring has finally arrived! It was a beautiful day to play golf as inter-island neighbors Orcas and Lopez met at the Orcas Island Golf Club Tuesday, April 1.

The Orcas Lady Vikings fought hard against the defending State girls’ champion Lady Lobos and pulled out a 308-308 tie. “It was a tough match,” said coach Bobby Olmsted. “Some of the girls had their best round to date. I am very very proud of them.”

Melissa Moran-Hodge led the Orcas girl’s team, shooting a 48 followed closely by Cetacea Stanton with a 52. Rounding out the girls’ scores were Maddy Smith with 61, Jenna Schmidt with 62 and newcomer Elena Bakker with 85.

The Viking boys’ team dominated the competition 211-394 with a record seven players shooting under 50. Anthony Ghazel shot a 39. Close behind were Taylor Diepenbrock with 41, Henri Bredouw with 42, Alan Coe, 44, Roy Miller, 45, Chris Troutman, 46 and Joe Boucher, 49. “All seven beat Lopez’s number one player who shot a 50,” said Olmsted.

Ghazel, who finished 31st at last year’s State Championship, continues to shoot below 40 and is well on his way to his pre-season goal of placing in the top 10 at this year’s championship. “The other boys are on right on his heels,” said Olmsted.

The coaching staff feels that, once again, the whole team will qualify for the district tournament. “It was a good match but we still have lots of work to do,” said Olmsted. “My challenge to the boys is to score under 48 during the season.”

Olmsted says, “It shows how hard both (boys and girls) play and their determination to do well. It’s going to be interesting down the stretch.”