Boys golf to compete at regional tournament tomorrow

Senior+Derek+Hamilton+practices+at+the+Castle+Hills+golf+course.+Hamilton+will+be+competing+with+his+team+at+the+regional+tournament+on+April+24-25.

Photo by Aparnna Manoj

Senior Derek Hamilton practices at the Castle Hills golf course. Hamilton will be competing with his team at the regional tournament on April 24-25.

The boys golf team will compete at the UIL Regional Tournament on April 24 and 25 at Tangle Ridge Golf Club in Grand Prairie.

The team qualified for regionals by winning district. Sophomore Greg Seo also was the individual district champion with a two-day score of 145. This is the first time in 15 years the team won the team district championship.

“It means a lot,” senior Derek Hamilton said. “It’s been my one goal since freshman year and the men’s golf team has not made it out of district in a while. It’s a great way to finish off my senior year. I’d love to continue my way to state; that would mean even more.”

Girls golf competitors senior Jennie Park and freshman Symran Shah placed first and second in district respectively and completed their second day of the competition on April 23. Park tied for first and will be competing at state for the fourth time on May 13-14; Shah tied for twelfth.

“I find this a big accomplishment for me in my high school career before I graduate and move onto collegiate golf,” Park said. “It was all such a great experience with a lot of my teammates coming out to watch and also how much the coaches support[ed] and help[ed] me throughout the round. I just really hope [the boys team [makes] it to state because the team is really strong this year and they’re all so very hardworking. I believe they have a good chance in getting out and I’m just wishing them the best of luck.”

The boys team, along with Park and Shah, visited the regional site on April 16 for a practice round before the competition.

“We take our time and they hit four or five shots from different angles,” head coach Terie Campbell said. “They putt around the whole green to get a feel for the course again. They’ve played it twice already, but if you got around the course really well and didn’t have a bad ball or bad in a lateral or a ball in the woods or in the sand, then the nerves may take over, the wind may blow it in there, so we practice those shots. We [also] practice the unlikely shots.”

Campbell said she expects good competition from teams from Frenship and Southlake.

“Our region is probably one of the toughest,” Campbell said. “We know that there’s some [tough] teams there, but we know that with these scores and if we can shoot like this then we are going to get out, so it’s just one of those things you got to have at least four or five guys shoot low both days to get out.”

If the boys team secures the two lowest scores, they will qualify to compete at state at Legacy Hills Golf Club on May 20-21.

“Our expectation is to go to state and it’s a realistic expectation,” Campbell said. “It’s not one ‘if everything falls in place we can get to go,’ it’s one of those where they can see it, they can taste it, they can feel it: it’s right there. I’ve tried to create scenarios to where there’s a conflict or hiccup so that they can handle it and not get upset about it and that’ll carry on in how they’ll play. Golf is so mental; you always have to be positive. This mindset for them is really important.”