Women’s golf team reflects on season

Owen Crews
Sports Editor

girls golf — Junior Emma Norton takes practice drive swing. Norton’s practicing has paid off, and she shot a 72 in a scramble tournament, placing first. Photo by Samantha Klein

Women’s golf ended its season undefeated and first in its District. Five members went to State and placed second by one stroke.

The top two teams from each district were allowed to send four members to State, and a fifth member if they qualified. This year’s state competitors consisted of seniors Jenna Clark and Sarah Ewing, who also went to State last year, juniors Ellie Nakatani and Emma Norton and freshman Cate Nakatani. Norton qualified as an individual.

“All five of us earned our spot there,” Clark said.

“State was a lot of fun getting to go as a whole team was unbelievable. Having all five of us made the van ride and meals so much more memorable,” Ewing wrote.

Ewing said her favorite memories from this season are the team cookie-making contest and the team hotel room pep talk at State.

Ellie Nakatani had fun when playing with her younger sister.

“It definitely made us both more competitive, and we both wanted to be better than each other. It was actually really fun and brought us closer together. “This was definitely my favorite season. We had a really good group of people which made it a lot better, and made us play better too,” Ellie Nakatani said.

Cate Nakatani also enjoyed having someone to look up to and play with.

“It was nice having her as a big sister to kind of lead me, but also for kind of competitive with each other and that helps us both to do better and have kind of friendly competition with each other,” Cate Nakatani said.

Golf coach Joshua Spuhl was happy with this season.

“The golf season was a blast. The seniors really came up big time this year. Jenna, Sarah, Annabelle and Margo are all awesome young people. Going to State and winning second Place was the icing on the cake,” Spuhl wrote over email.

“The season was amazing! It was definitely the most fun season in all of my four years. The team had a super-strong bond. If someone told me at the beginning of the season that we would be undefeated in all of our matches and take second as a team at State I wouldn’t have believed it. I couldn’t have asked for a better team or a better end to my senior year,” Ewing wrote.

Both seniors plan to continue playing golf in college, Ewing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Clark at Maryville University.

Ewing will continue her golf career at University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

“I loved the team, I loved the coach, the players are really nice, and so between all those factors and it being close to home as well, I wanted to go there,” Clark said about Maryville.

Clark is optimistic about the future of WGHS women’s golf and hopes that the team makes it to State again next year.

“I mean you hate being a senior and it being over, but I mean, that was a pretty good way to end it,” Clark said.