Cat Power: Dougherty Valley Girls Golf

Story by Chace Bryson | Photos by Phillip Walton

When the last of the scores were posted for the 2013 North Coast Section Div. I Girls Golf Championship tournament at Peacock Gap Country Club in San Rafael, plenty of players and coaches murmured surprise that Dougherty Valley had won it all.

The most surprised individuals may have been the Dougherty Valley players themselves.

The Wildcats didn’t exactly come from nowhere to win the program’s first NCS title by eight strokes that afternoon — they were Diablo Foothill Athletic League champions after all — but there wasn’t a single senior in their top six, and the team had finished eighth the year before.

Things will feel much different for Dougherty Valley when it shows up for the 2014 NCS Div. I Tournament at Tilden Park Golf Course in Berkeley on Nov. 3. This time will include expectations — both external and internal.

“It’s not so much that we feel pressure,” Wildcats junior all-leaguer Yoonhee Kim said. “It’s more that we just really want to win again.”

Lack of experience won’t be a problem.

Five of the six golfers who teed off at last year’s section tournament remain among the team’s Top 8. The one name missing is Belinda Hu, who shared medalist honors a year ago as a freshman but chose not to return to the team this year. That, in turn, gave opportunities to a pair of freshmen — Amy Xue and Janica Ha — who have both had fantastic first years with the Wildcats.

The team is coming off a standout performance in the DFAL Championship Tournament on Oct. 20 at Diablo Creek Golf Course. The Wildcats ran away from the field, producing a five-golfer score of 383 with all five golfers posting scores in the 70s. The overall number was 14 strokes better than second-place Dublin.

Check out the full article on SportStars Magazine: Cat Power