Burbank freshman Orellana powers Bulldogs to second in league girls’ golf match
Though the outcome if the second Pacific League girls’ golf match at the Altadena Golf Course on Wednesday saw a noticeable similarity to the league-opener, the biggest difference was the overall performance from each area team.
The team result was the same, with Arcadia winning the match with a total of 201, followed by Burbank with a second-place effort of 223 and Burroughs with a 262. Crescenta Valley placed fourth, carding 333, while Glendale was unable to field a full lineup.
But in all, the four area teams saw improvements in the golfers’ swings, strategies and approaches on the 9-hole, 36-par course, although they faced temperatures in the mid-90s with a slight northbound breeze.
Erica Lee of Arcadia earned her second straight league medalist honor, firing a two-under-par 35. The top local finisher was Burbank freshman Lisette Orellana, who fired a 39.
The Apaches won their second league match in a row as each golfer scored 45 or lower.
Along with Lee’s individual result the reigning Pacific League champion Apaches received a 39 from Nicole Ho, 41 from Tiffany Lo, 43s from Flora Chen and Jolie Fong and 45 from Denise Litonjua.
Burbank, which was without reigning Pacific League individual champion Kiara Hernandez, who is in the midst of a sit-out period after transferring from Burroughs, had three scorers shoot in the 40s.
“The team gets better as we’re getting along,” Burbank coach Branko Sevic said. “Our hard work is now starting to show.
“Personally, I expect that from [Lisette] and so does she, and it’s good to see that she’s starting to get better and better and get more comfortable playing on the team with varsity players.”
Alongside Orellana, the Bulldogs received a 44 from Maddie Lee, 45s from Cassie Morin-Goana and Alyssa Tran Kara Lee fired 50s.
Hernandez will be eligible on Sept. 26, just in time for the final league match at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena on Oct. 2.
Leading the Indians was senior Jocelyn Kim, who shot 49. Burroughs also received a 50 from Annika Lingad, a 52 from Abby Powell, a 55 from Sadie Demmert and a 56 from Isabella Alderte.
“The girls are doing well and each week they should get stronger,” Burroughs first-year coach Sean White said. “We know what to work on for the future and putting was an issue today, so that’s what we’ll focus on before the next league match.”
Crescenta Valley was led by Elaine Kim, who fired a 56. She was followed by Angie Anaheim (63), Katie Bernabie (70), Maneh Davityan (71) and Nina Yalung (73).
“My girls are trying to forget about the last shot and worry about the next shot to try to get better one stroke at a time,” Crescenta Valley coach Mark Samford said. “We’re a lot better than we were last week. The girls put in some work, made some adjustments and it paid off. We’re going to try to do it again next week.”
Glendale’s four scorers were Nikki Harrigan (62), Arpi Stepanyan (64), Nicole Ser Manukyan (72) and Gabby Aghajanian (73).
“Most of my girls’ scores improved from last week and that’s what we’re after: to see those scores improve,” Glendale coach Anthony Mohr said.
“We have 11 golfers and hopefully one of them can come up and next year and can compete in league. We just have to keep working. We just need to work on some consistency with their swings.”
The next Pacific League match will take place at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.