Ramirez's 47 leads Monache to season sweep of Porterville

Porterville and Monache girls’ golf squads don’t seem to have a rivalry like their schools’ other sports do.

After the Marauders bested the Panthers in the teams’ final dual match on Thursday, 272-306, there was only talk of self-improvement — no trash talking.

“It’s a different kind of sport,” Porterville coach David Herrera said. “You kind of just play against yourself and that’s it.”

In his third year, Herrera has led the Panthers to their first third-place EYL finish in school history, which means they earned their first berth to the upcoming area tournament on Oct. 26 in Kingsburg.

“We practiced over the summer and several girls were really dedicated,” Herrera said.

Panthers’ No. 1 Mina Hassanshahi led her team with a score of 55 while Lauren Minter was close behind with a 57.

The twosome nearly matched Monache’s top two of Jackie Ramirez’s tournament-best 47 (two strokes shy of her career mark) and Devon Meredith’s 61.

Ramirez, who picked up a golf club for her first time last year after becoming the nation’s top baton twirler in her age group three straight years, earned revenge on Hassanshahi after losing by one stroke the last time the two met.

“I could’ve got a 45 again, but I bogeyed a par 3 on Hole 7,” said Ramirez, whose personal best is 44 during practice. “I don’t like to lose to anyone. I’m really competitive.”

Marauders captain Daley Roche shot a 57 to help her squad remain perfect against Porterville during her four years at Monache.

She’s come a long way since her first tournament as a freshman, when the coach simply asked her to average 10 shots per hole.

“I (just missed) the putt on last hole that day and I looked at my coach and said, ‘I was already at 90. That’s 91!’” said Roche, who now averages low 50s. “He said, ‘That’s OK!’”

Monache’s Zoey Randhawa and Emily Ragan each carded a 59 while Kim Leyva shot a career-low 50.

Porterville got 63s from Jacquelyn Forester and Dedra Devine and 68s from Kasandra Garfield and Janet Rodriguez.

The EYL tournament begins Monday at the North Kern Golf Course.