Bishop Gorman’s girls golf team has experienced its share of deja vu over the past several seasons, and coach Dusty Allen hopes his players are ready to break the cycle.
For the past two years and four of the past five years, the Gaels have entered the fall with high hopes for a 5A state championship. Each time, they have fallen to Coronado in the state tournament.
But Allen said he is only looking forward.
“I really don’t look at it as frustrating,” Allen said. “I knew it was going to be close (last year), and I see this upcoming season as very similar.”
Though Gorman won the regional match last year, Coronado continued the same old story by fighting back to win the state tourney by three strokes. It was the Cougars’ fifth straight title.
“I’d prefer the shoe to be on the other foot, but we are excited about our prospects,” Allen said.
Though Coronado may again lack depth, coach Rusty Anderson returns all four of his top golfers from last year. And that’s all it takes.
“We’re going to be a competitive team,” the Coronado coach said. “But there are a lot of other people looking to finish on top. It’s all about doing the daily work.”
The Cougars return last year’s third-place individual state finisher Berlin Biddinger, fourth-place finisher Grace Oh, seventh-place finisher Sophia Medlin and 15th-place finisher Alexa Hart. They will get some support from Emma Cooper, who hit a hole-in-one in this season’s first practice.
“We have some talented freshmen coming in, and it helps that they’ll get to compete with our returners and learn from them,” Anderson said.
Gorman lost Samantha Harris, last year’s top finisher in the state match, to graduation.
“Her shoes will be impossible to fill,” Allen said. “But we have some hungry younger players and we still have a very good chance.”
Tiffany Park, Sol Choi, Amelia Chen, Francine Paloma and Sophia Gronowski will be key returners for the Gaels.
The South again looks strong, and there are at least three teams that could win it. The other early favorite is Faith Lutheran, which has a new coach, the area’s top golfer in Maddie Perez (second in state last year) and her sister Kenzie Perez.
“It’s going to come down to getting four scores that are acceptable,” Allen said. “We have some depth, so we’re not reliant on just four golfers.”
Anderson said he does not want his golfers to focus on the team’s winning streak.
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past,” he said. “It’s what you do now.”
Gorman opens Mountain League competition Aug. 14 at Painted Desert, and Coronado opens Desert League play Aug. 19 at Paiute.
In 4A action, Desert Oasis will be the favorite after winning its first 4A state title last year. Sierra Vista and Silverado also look competitive.
The 3A will be led by the usuals, with Boulder City looking for its third consecutive title. The Meadows and Virgin Valley also should be in the hunt.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
