Glendale Community College women’s golf back to being a team
In a complete reversal from the previous season, the Glendale Community College women’s golf team will have enough players to field a complete lineup.
That wasn’t the situation last season when the Vaqueros had only one player in Sarah Soderberg. Glendale will now have four athletes in the mix and will be able to compete in several tournaments and in the rugged Western State Conference, arguably one of the most difficult in the state.
“It’s nice to have a full team,” said Glendale second-year Coach Natalie Guidry, whose team will begin its season Sunday competing in the South Coast Tournament at Buenaventura Golf Course in Ventura. “We were able to pull it together and I can now work with a group of players.
“We only have one player who has experience and the other three have never really played before. We are building from scratch, but the biggest difference for me will be that I can be more hands-on and work with each of the players.”
Soderberg had a fine season last year with the Vaqueros, finishing fifth in conference and picking up all-conference accolades and advancing to the Southern California Regionals. However, Guidry said Soderberg chose to head back to her native Sweden.
The Vaqueros will have a lineup consisting of freshman Kyla Barbosa and sophomores Anastasia Tumanova, Yasmin Maldonado and Ingrid Bernal. Of the quartet, only Barbosa has playing experience.
Guidry said she’ll have time to provide instruction for the inexperienced players.
“We’ll have time to work on different things,” said Guidry, who played on the UC Riverside women’s golf team. “You find out that golf can be a frustrating and stressful game and how it’s a character-building sport.
“I want to see our players feel comfortable with things like their swing and get the feel of it. You want to see them be comfortable on the course.”
Glendale’s first conference match will be Monday at Olivas Links Golf Course in Ventura. Glendale will be joined in conference by Santa Barbara, College of the Canyons, Citrus and Bakersfield. Santa Barbara captured the conference title before winning the California Community College Athletic Assn. Golf Championship last season.
The Vaqueros will host a conference tournament Oct. 20 at Angeles National Golf Club in Tujunga. The conference final will take place Oct. 27 at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena.
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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .
