Golfin’ Dolphins Defend League Title

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Winning the title for the first time is hard. Repeating is even harder, but the Palisades High girls golf team proved it was up to the challenge in last Friday’s Western League Finals at Balboa Golf Course in Encino.

The Golfin’ Dolphins and Fairfax had split a pair of head-to-head meetings during the regular season, so the rubber match determined first place and Palisades’ five players shot a collective 518 over 18 holes to finish 27 strokes ahead of the runner-up Lions.

“Our goal was to win however we could and we knew that every score counts,” said Melanie Matayoshi, who led Palisades with a 92, shooting a 49 on the front nine and a 43 on the back, highlighted by a par at No. 13. “I could’ve done better. I wanted to make good shots and choose the right club because last year I left everything short. Aim is what I’ve been working on most. I was in the first group with really good players so I felt a little pressure, but they were all very positive and I fed off their energy.”

Lillia Weissmuller fired a 95 to post the Dolphins’ second-lowest score on Friday.

“I played a lot more over the summer, I spent time at the range and worked with a swing coach,” the sophomore said. “I shot an 83 here in a practice round a few weeks ago and I prefer this course to Penmar. I actually like playing 18 holes instead of nine. My putting has improved the most. My goal is to make [SoCal] regionals. I told myself ‘Just do your best.’ I had a good feeling about it.”    

Mariana Paleno shot a 97 and Maliyah Jennings and Sarah Medernach each carded a 117 to round out Palisades’ lineup. Fairfax’s Angela Kim fired a 7-under par 66 to capture medalist honors, defending league champion Kara Temena of University was second  at 1-under and Caitlin Sasamori of Venice shot an 85 for third.

All five Dolphins were in the field for yesterday’s City Section Championships, also at Balboa (results unavailable at press time).