Women's golf team wins conference opener
Sep 07, 2006
The Irvine Valley women's golf team squeezed out a one stroke victory at the par 72 El Prado Golf Course in its Orange Empire Conference opener on Wednesday.
Irvine Valley finished with a team score of 360 to better host Santiago Canyon’s 361 and Golden West’s 361.
The Lasers were paced by team captain Ailam Truong’s score of 84.
But the final outcome came down to the play of freshman Ashley Silver.
Playing in the last group, Silver had to beat Santiago Canyon’s fourth player by six strokes to tie.
Silver battled in with a score of 89, which beat the Santiago Canyon player by seven strokes and gave Irvine Valley the victory.
"I am very happy for these ladies," Irvine Valley Coach Ben Burnett said. "A close victory, especially in a season opener, reveals character and helps to mold a team together. Close defeats are difficult to put behind you."
Burnett said he expects a lot of the conference matches to be close this season.
"As we saw in the Tee Off Classic, the six teams in our conference are evenly matched and capable of defeating each other at any time," he said.
Irvine Valley plays next in the annual Golden West College Desert Invitational Friday and Saturday in Palm Springs.
"This gives us a chance to preview the strength of teams throughout the
state," Burnett said. "It is also team bonding time. I have no player
nor team expectations, in this tournament, except to continue to
develop the attitude of giving your best effort."