Monache closes EYL with win

SPRINGVILLE — Jake Winter is a coach who places a great amount of value on his team as a whole.

As the coach of the Monache girls golf team — a squad that includes one of the top golfers in the Valley in Kristen Allard — Winter hasn’t strayed from the idea of melding his players together, never giving preferential treatment to just one.

And on Thursday evening at River Island Country Club, Winter’s hard work and persistence paid off as MHS faced off with Porterville.

The Marauders all played well as a team, each one shooting a 60 or lower, just what the Monache coach has been stressing all season.

Monache finished the day with a 231 overall and beat the Panthers via forfeit.

“It wasn’t our best or worst, but we’ve been really consistent in the last four or five matches as a team,” Winter said. “Being a team sport coach, we found a way to take golfers who have never played before to work together.”

Allard was back to her usual self, shooting a one-over-par 37. The Monache senior finished with two birdies on hole Nos. 3 and 6 as well as four pars.

“I did OK. The bogies weren’t all that great because there isn’t much you can do about it,” she said. “Overall, I thought I did pretty good. I was driving and putting pretty good.”

What Winter was most impressed with, however, was the rest of his lineup. Kalyn Reed shot a 42, Stacey Yamaguchi carded a 46, Lucy Mendez finished with a 52, Sylvia Crandell shot a 54 and Daley Roche carded a 60.

Winter said his team has improved from its first match of the season to the last by 41 strokes.

“It gives us consistency and depth when our last three golfers are improving,” Winter said. “It’s really those last three golfers who have been anchoring us down.”

Porterville, which was forced to forfeit because of not having five players, shot steadily as well.

Partners Ana Torres and Whitney Rodriguez each shot a 67. Elvira Ceballos carded a 60 and Dedra Devine finished with a 66.

“Overall, it has been a terrific year seeing how all of my girls have improved more than I thought,” PHS coach David Herrera said. “We’re only going to have three returners for next season, so it’s definitely going to be a rebuilding year.”

The Panthers managed wins over each team in the East Yosemite League at least once in 2007, except for the top three: Monache, Tulare Union and Tulare Western.

Rodriguez, a senior, said she improved over the course of the season by 90 strokes. In her first match against the Mustangs at River Island, Rodriguez said she shot a 150. Her constant progression enabled her to shoot a season-high 45 against Delano.

“I started to improve when I got mad,” Rodriguez said. “It was just irritating to see people who just started playing doing better than me.”

Up next for Monache and Porterville is the EYL tournament in Tulare on Tuesday.

The contest will determine the EYL champion between the Marauders and Tulare Western, two teams currently deadlocked at the top of the league.

The Mustangs and MHS met twice during the regular season. Tulare Western came out on top during the first match with a 246-272 win. Monache later traveled to the Mustangs’ home course and came away with a 242-251 victory.

“As far as predictions go, I like our chances,” Winter said. “Make no mistake about it, it will be disappointing if we lose to Western. But if they shoot better than us and win, my hat’s off to them.”