Crescenta Valley golf’s Chung, Han, Burbank’s Maemura, La Cañada’s Bessho advance to league final
VAN NUYS — With the Pacific League finals on deck, a handful of area girls’ golf players came into Wednesday’s final league match at Woodley Lakes Golf Course with plenty at stake.
Irene Maemura, Audrey Chung, Andrea Han and Keilee Bessho navigated their way through the final regular-season match to advance to the league final. The quartet was among 13 players to reach the 18-hole league final, which will begin at 9:07 a.m. Tuesday at River Ridge Golf Course’s Vineyard Course in Oxnard.
Maemura of Burbank carded a one-over-par 38 on Wednesday despite not being too familiar with the venue.
“I played a practice round and in a tournament here about two or three years ago,” said Maemura, a reigning All-Area selection. “It’s pretty much a flat and straight-forward course and the greens were pretty slow.
“I was able to give myself a chance because my chipping helped me get my shots on to the greens. I feel like I’m playing OK and my scores have been pretty consistent lately. Going into the league final, you have to hit your drives straight and your energy level has to be consistent.”
After determining a league champion via stroke play in recent seasons, the league switched its format to a point system this year. San Marino’s Elizabeth Wang leads with 173.5 points, followed by Maemura at 171. Wang shared medalist honors with teammate Trussy Li on Wednesday with 35s.
The top seven from the league final will qualify for the CIF Southern Section Northern Regional, which will start at 8 a.m. Oct. 27 at River Ridge.
San Marino finished first with a 187 on Wednesday and wrapped up the league championship after winning all six league matches.
Crescenta Valley placed second with a 209 on Wednesday, followed by Arcadia (210), Burroughs (233), La Cañada (233) and Burbank (273). Overall, Arcadia placed second and Crescenta Valley took third to advance to the CIF Southern Section Eastern Team Divisional, which will be played at 8 a.m. Oct. 30 at Jurupa Hills Golf Course in Riverside County. Burroughs finished the season fourth, followed by La Cañada and Burbank.
Han and Chung finished with a 39 and 42, respectively, on Wednesday for Crescenta Valley to move on to the league final. Han has 145 points and Chung has 147.
Crescenta Valley Coach Lee Pope said he was pleased two of his players advanced to the league final.
“With the way the season laid out, I thought maybe we’d get one player going to the league final,” said Pope, the reigning All-Area Girls’ Coach of the Year. “Getting two is an absolute bonus.
“I thought Audrey and Andrea deserved it. We’ll see what they can do next time, but at least they go in knowing the course.”
La Cañada saw Bessho, a senior, also move on to the league final after shooting a 42. Bessho has 137 points.
“I think my chipping really saved me today,” Bessho said. “It probably saved me about five strokes and I knew I had to play as well as I could to go to the final.
“I’ve played River Ridge plenty of times. It comes down to putting and being able to fight through the wind.”
Crescenta Valley received a 40 from Laura Perez, a 42 from Gloria Namkung and 46 from Emily Redecker.
Burroughs was led by Raelinn Arnold, who carded a 43. The Indians received a 45 from Maddie Riggs, 46 from Ashley Phelps, 47 from Annie Adachi and a 52 from Samantha Mazo in wrapping up their season.
“We got better as the season went along,” Burroughs Coach Greg Everhart said.
For La Cañada, Rachel Oh had a 45, Emma McGuinness carded a 51, Sydnie Liu had a 56 and Mahli Bernstein added a 66.
Alexis Poche had a 46 for Burbank, which got a 50 from Amy Tran, a 69 from Erin Tanner and a 70 from Caitlyn Brooks.
Also advancing to the league final were Li (168.5 points), Bella Setio (165), Cameron McCrary (147) Vivian Sun (135.5) and Alex Chen (138.5) of San Marino; and Kayla Yn (144), Gabbi Lewis (164) and Cynthia Guo (133) of Arcadia.
