Rosary Learns Lesson: Can’t Assume Victory

Rosary has established itself as a contender in the tough Serra League, but a lopsided loss to Santa Margarita has opened the eyes of the Royals.

“We were 7-0 going into that and the girls might have been thinking they were not going to get beat this year,” Coach Hank Vellekamp said. “But they were pretty concerned about that loss afterward. We play them again, so we can just hope it comes out our way.”

Led by freshman Jenn Sanders and senior Eileen Jonas, the Royals have surprised Vellekamp, who took over the program when Jamie McCance left at the end of last year. Rosary was the Southern Section runner-up two years ago, but did not make the section playoffs last year.

“I had no idea what kind of team we had here when I came in,” Vellekamp said. “But it’s been a very pleasant surprise.”

One disadvantage for the Royals is they use Fullerton Golf Course, a short par-33 course, for home matches. The loss to Santa Margarita, a 118-131 decision, came at Coyote Hills. Vellekamp switched the venue to get his team some experience at a full-sized course.

“I was concerned we might get stale playing too much at [Fullerton],” he said. “But I think we’ll be all right.”

Rosary already has a convincing 113-136 victory over much-improved Mater Dei, so the big test comes Wednesday when the Royals play at Torrance Bishop Montgomery, the league co-champion last year.

“Our only goal at the beginning of the year was to play the best we could in every match,” Vellekamp said. “Then we’ll see what happens from there.”

OLIVER RETURNS

Jamie Oliver returns to action this week for No. 10 Los Alamitos.

Oliver, a sophomore and the top player for the Griffins, has been out since Sept. 9 with a wrist injury. The Griffins (5-1) were 3-0 without Oliver in the lineup.

FUTURE CHAMPIONS

As part of the U.S. women’s Mid-Amateur championships festivities, the U.S. Golf Assn. invited 12 of the top girl golfers in the county to play Saturday at Big Canyon Country Club, site of the mid-amateur this week.

Stella Lee of Irvine, Lesil Hasbrouck of Aliso Niguel, Allison Schauppner of Corona del Mar and Kelly Hunt of Newport Harbor were among those invited. Official scores were not posted and players were instructed to pick up close putts, but Warren, a marshal during the event, knows better.

“Are you kidding me,” Warren said. “Those girls are competitive. They weren’t picking up. Every kid knows exactly what they shot.”

SAILOR STREAK ENDS

A day after unranked Newport Harbor upset No. 3 Irvine, the Sailors saw their streak of 25 consecutive victories come to an end in a 262-266 loss to Fountain Valley.

The 18-hole match began last month, when Fountain Valley took a 10-stroke lead. Newport Harbor came back in the second half but couldn’t save the streak, which dates to 1998.

“We had a really good run,” Newport Harbor Coach Jim Warren said. “But we knew it would have to come to an end.”

UNLUCKY NUMBER

Good things did not come in threes for Irvine this week.

The Vaqueros moved into the No. 3 spot in the county poll, then dropped three consecutive matches. Villa Park defeated Irvine, 118-121, on Monday; Newport Harbor won, 133-135, on Wednesday, and Aliso Niguel ousted Irvine, 123-127 on Thursday.

The average number of stroke differential in those losses? Why, three, of course.

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