DALLAS: The John Paul II Varsity Golf team competed in the Jesuit Dallas Invitational at Brookhaven Country Club on Monday, February 28th. Both teams claimed 3rd place in this prestigious tournament hosted by Cathy Marino, the Jesuit Head Coach.
The JPII Boys were led by standout freshman,
Raghav Subbiah, posting a 1 over par 73, which was good for a tie for 3rd-Place medalist honors. Junior
Kai Leider and sophomore
Deuce Monroe both followed with scores of 80. Senior
Chase Cutler posted an 88 and freshman
Caden Oldham rounded out the Cardinals' Top-5 with an 89. The team score of 321 was 16 shots behind the team champion, St. Mark's School of Texas.
Head Coach
Bruce Smith spoke about the team's performance, with particular praise for Subbiah. "This one was tough to prepare for with the weather we had last week. Most, if not all of the golf courses have been closed for a week with tarp covered greens for the cold temps this last week. We have some winter rust we need to knock off. The Masters Course at Brookhaven can have some sting if you do not play it smartly. I was very proud of Raghav and the way he played. He really had a chance to win the tournament down the stretch. He caught an unlucky break on the 17th hole with a buried lie in the bunker that led to a double bogey. He seemed to be the most solid player of our group after the cold weather lay off. Two of our next three tournaments are at Indian Creek, the site of the 6A Regional. Indian Creek is our home course, so I expect that we will be ready in preparation for the Regional."
The Lady Cardinals were led by standout sophomore and All-Stater,
Sidney Gainor, who posted a 78 on the demanding President's Course layout. Her score was good for 4th-Place medalist out of more than sixty girls. Seniors
Madie Bailey and
Sydney Lewis followed with 84 and 86, respectively. Freshman
Sofia Denham finished with a 92 and junior
Trinity Harris contributed with a 95. The team score of 340 was good for 3rd-Place behind team champion, Hockaday.
Coach Smith said he liked where the girls team is at, noting that there is still plenty of room to improve. "As with the boys, the girls had a tough time getting ready for this one with the past week's weather. The President's Course can play tough with the small greens if you get out of position. Our girls tend to warm up with the spring weather as well. Our next two events will tell us where we are as we prep for the post-season.
Sidney Gainor played very well, but still needs to trim off some mistakes. I am also very proud of Sofia and Trinity as they continue to improve. We will have to find 20 strokes to trim off at State if we are going to compete for the title, but I think the girls can do it."
Both the Cardinal Boys and Girls Golf Teams are back in action next Tuesday at the Lewisville Fighting Farmer Classic at Indian Creek.
