Big sister Madeleine Garay
(top) puts little sister Caroline
on the bottom for a photo.
(Ed Piper)
Members of La Jolla's stellar girls golf team were friendly and engaging, even with an unannounced request for a team photo right before the Vikings' Western League showdown with top rival Cathedral Catholic at La Jolla Country Club Tues., Sept. 22.
Coach Aaron Quesnell models this calm, smiling approach. He was loquacious despite the importance of the 3:30 p.m. match, which pitted his red-hot duffers against the dreaded giant from the north.
The black-and-red golfers kill their opponents with kindness, in effect--with a surgeon's precision.
What strikes one is the fact La Jolla's power is mainly emanating from only two households: the Vikings have two sets of sisters who are packing a punch this season that, so far, has walloped their opponents. Yet they do it with a grin.
Waverly Whiston, a top golfer in CIF for the Vikings the past two years, is now a junior and welcomed her younger sister, Nicole, onto the varsity squad this fall. Meanwhile, the other veteran star, Madeleine Garay, a senior, is accompanied by her own sister, Caroline, another freshman, on the new configuration of the team this year.
Another remarkable fact is that half the "power quad" is made up of first-time varsity members who are freshmen, Nicole and Caroline.
With Quesnell's number five and six golfers playing consistently, this means La Jolla enters most matches knowing their five scoring athletes are going to knock out whoever is swinging the clubs for the other team.
Versus Cathedral, though seemingly not overconfident, Quesnell confided after the girls teed off that his sextet should prevail in the match. That would pretty much secure the Western League title for the Westbourne St. campus.
But again, these girls are so well-adjusted, so seemingly feet-planted-firmly-on-the-ground, that they were friendly with the Dons golfers. A trio of girls were talking with one another about future plans for college, whether they wanted to stay in California for their higher schooling, and all of this while waiting for the preceding foursome to clear the fairway so that they, in turn, could tee off in the big match.
A reporter realizes that this is the etiquette in the sport of golf, but it is just unimaginable before a big boys football game, when players are ready to tear each other's heads off (and do, in tackling them).
La Jolla opened a wide lead and beat Cathedral in the showdown by 27 strokes, 202-229.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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