By Ed Piper
Charlotte Cantonis, a freshman golfer at La Jolla High, finished fifth in the Southern California Regional and qualified for the state meet Tues., Nov. 16 at prestigious Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
"No, her father will go with her," said Cantonis' mom when asked if she was accompanying her daughter on the Monday flight to Pebble Beach, just south of the Bay Area. Mom was taking photos when her daughter was introduced to the crowd during the Viking-Valley Center playoff game which La Jolla later won Fri., Nov. 12.
Charlotte didn't just come out of nowhere. Aaron Quesnell, the former LJHS golf coach who just stepped down to assume his position as Athletic Director at LJHS this fall, made sure I knew about her earlier this fall. "Charlotte Canthonis--she's really playing well," he told me a couple of months ago.
Cantonis put up good scores all fall in leading a young, struggling Viking girls team under Coach Christie Quinn. Several seniors graduated last year, and COVID just wreaked havoc in the progress of the program during an abbreviated schedule last winter.
Cantonis is a typical teenager, not given to a ton of words in front of a representative of the media. She would talk and laugh with Daria Tvrdisic, another freshman, and other teammates during workouts and meetups for matches this fall. She's not a quote machine, she's a golf machine. She lets her golf speak for itself.
Charlotte measures about 5'8", so she stands out among the girls as one of the tallest on either side. Her tee time at Pebble Beach Tuesday is 10:20 a.m. with two other competitors, Annika Yturralde from Steele Canyon and Michelle Woo from Mission San Jose High School. The trio, like the other 17 threesomes, will tee off on the 10th hole at Poppy Hills.
Tournament notes state that the driving range at Poppy will open Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. There is a scheduled practice round organized by CIF, but that apparently is held the day before, Monday. It's not clear if Cantonis will take part in the practice round to acquaint herself with the course. That would seem to be an enormous advantage.
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