Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” would be an ideal theme song for the Dos Pueblos girls golf team.
In a sport that requires tremendous focus and concentration, the DP players have a way of staying relaxed and keeping things fun on the golf course.
The Dos Pueblos Golf Team: (Top Row L to R) Hannah Cho, Jamie Sharpe, Megan Caird, Roni Abbott, Bella Vigna. (Bottom L to R) Gabby Minier, Nicole Calene, Julia Forster, Mika Henrickson, Mary Grace Langhorn (Missing).
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The Team of the Month Series spotlights great
examples of teamwork in the local sports community— Presented by Sansum Clinic —
This fun bunch also knows how to get results. The Chargers won their 17th straight Channel League team title and finished the regular season with an 11-1 record. Sophomore Bella Vigna captured the league individual title for the second straight year, leading six DP golfers in the top 10 at the tournament at Soule Park.
In CIF team competition, the Chargers finished as runner-up at the Northern Division tournament and advanced to the regional qualifier.
DP coach Rob Schiff says this group of golfers is “really fun to work with. They are very much the definition of a team. High school golf is a weird dynamic in terms of individual and team, but these guys work well together and try to help each other get better. They are very supportive of each other.”
The team is a mix of all grade levels. Before Vigna repeated as league champ, Megan Caird, now a senior, was the individual champion.
“The younger ones are really good,” said Caird, referring to Vigna and freshman Gabby Minier, who finished second at the league tournament and qualified for the CIF Individual Tournament with Vigna. “It’s really cool. It’s nice to get new people who are really good and not just starting the game. It’s a really good addition to the team so we can go far in CIF.”
The Chargers enjoyed a stellar regular season. They scored under 200 at all of the matches played at their home course of Glen Annie Golf Course and in seven of the eight Channel League meets.
Schiff noted the team is in an interesting mix of personalities. There are the competitive ones who are aware of the program’s winning tradition. And there are those who just enjoy playing and hanging out with their teammates.
“Not all of them are into sports but the ones that realize how rare it is to win 17 titles in a row, in any sport, at any level, know that’s pretty unusual. The ones that are sports-minded kids get it, the others think, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ ”
Senior Mika Henrickson says being on the team is “golfing with my best friends. I feel like there’s no pressure when I’m golfing with them. You have to take it seriously, but there is a fun aspect about it. You’ve known (these girls) since elementary school and know everything that we’ve been through.”
Senior Jamie Sharpe shares that same feeling. “I like them all. I like all of our teammates. I think it’s a fun group.”
Asked about Vigna’s impact on the team, Henrickson smiled and replied: “Bella is something. We all get along and make fun of each other. We see each other at school all the time and have lunch together.”
Vigna has been a dynamo for the Chargers, consistently shooting in the 30s in the dual matches. She started the season with a 4-under 32 at Glen Annie, tying her school record.
“She’s fairly impervious to pressure,” said Schiff. “Sometimes she’s in her own world, which, I think, kind of helps her. She thinks differently than other kids I’ve been around. She’s fun to be around. She says and thinks things that kind of take me off-guard a little bit.”
When it comes to her game, “She has a very repeatable swing and she knows her game well,” Schiff noted.
The day Vigna shot her 32, the Chargers lost against Oaks Christian (186-194), their only loss of the season. They’ve since beaten the Lions twice, at the Simi Valley Tournament with a four-player team and with a full squad at the CIF Northern Divisional Championship.
Caird, who also plays on the DP lacrosse team, enjoys the team aspect of high school golf.
“I really like working together as a team,” she said. “It’s more intense and exciting as a team because you’re together.”
And, together, the Chargers are rolling along and having fun.
