Submitted by Bob Mathews, Head Coach
This year the Cleveland golf team tripled in size from six to eighteen golfers, ranging from novices still learning how to swing a club to a handful of experienced players that qualified for the post-season Metro tournament, giving them a chance to compete in District and hopefully State. “It was great seeing so many new golfers turn out this year,” said Mathews. “Especially after last year’s COVID-challenged season, the students seemed ready to get back in it, and I was happy to welcome them to the golf team.”
Though the scorecard didn’t show the true progress of the team this season (no team wins for the boys), we didn’t forfeit any matches for lack of players like last year. The girl’s team competed in every match short one player and still managed to win four matches. “Coach Barker and I look forward to coaching a competitive team next year,” said Mathews. “This year, we finally got ourselves off the ground floor – I know this team will come back ready for a great 2023 season with hopefully more team wins.”
Cleveland proudly qualified six Eagle golfers who competed in the Metro tournament on October 18 in West Seattle:
- Sophomore Sam Bernier and juniors Owen Tatterson and Colin Tounalom for the boy’s team;
- Sophomore Sophia Tounalom, junior Quincy Spivey, and senior Brittany Phan for the girl’s team.
Colin shot 82 at Metro and went on to compete at the District tournament on October 24 in the cold and rain, where he shot an 86. “Colin fell short of qualifying for State this time, but he will get there next year,” promised Matthews. The girls competed in Metro on October 25, battling heavy rain and winds, and still managed to pull out the stops. Brittany shot 92, and Sophia placed 3rd overall, shooting 78, and was named to the All-Metro 1st Team. Both she and Brittany will compete at the District tournament in May. Go Eagles!
“Very proud of these golfers and this team,” said Mathews, “It’s been great seeing each player’s hard work paying off for them; you can see the improvement in each player.”
