Nesbitt helps Sailors win girls’ golf Battle of the Bay
The Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high school girls’ golf teams came into Thursday’s Battle of the Bay match with a youthful look.
The Sailors and Sea Kings boasted just one senior in their combined starting lineups. To further accentuate the point, the match was the season opener for both programs.
Newport Harbor’s Nicole Nesbitt may be a junior, but she has the leadership thing down. This is her second year as team captain and, on Thursday, she helped the Sailors earn a big victory over their cross-town rivals.
Nesbitt was the medalist as the Sailors beat CdM, 234-242, on the Sea Kings’ home course of Newport Beach Country Club.
Nesbitt shot a five-over-par 40 on the front nine, a round that included five pars. Her score could have been two shots better. She was frustrated by her double bogey on No. 9, after her second shot took an unlucky bounce and went out of bounds. But she also was encouraged by the way the rest of the team stepped up.
Newport sophomore Cathy Tong, who has been playing golf for just 10 months, shot a 42. That included about a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 4.
“We don’t have any senior leadership, but Nicole is a great captain,” Newport Harbor coach Scott Tarnow said. “The girls have been working very hard to get better, just like every other team does. It’s nice to see people like Cathy, to literally come out of nowhere. This is my 18th year coaching, and I’ve never seen anyone come that far that fast. I’ve seen her play better, but to play varsity golf at a high level in 10 months, she’s worked so hard.”
Other scorers for the Sailors included Nicole’s younger sister, freshman Sabrina Nesbitt (44), as well as juniors Siobhan Inch and Courtney Ima (both 54).
Last year, CdM won the Battle of the Bay match by 74 strokes, but times have clearly changed.
“In your heart, you really want to win it,” Nicole Nesbitt said. “A lot of us know each other. It’s nonleague, but you almost want to win it more than a league match. It was a little bit of nerves in there, but it was great to get the win. We were building last year, and their top players were doing really well. Now, it’s flipped a little bit. Our hard work is paying off.”
Alyaa Abdulghany, the CIF State champion two years ago, graduated and now plays at USC. And longtime CdM coach Mike Starkweather said that his top player this year, junior Celine Niu, is currently out of action with a damaged ligament in her forearm. Abdulghany and Niu were co-medalists last year in the Battle of the Bay match.
In Thursday’s match, sophomore Lucie Giannoni led CdM by carding a 45. Senior Sydney Sharf and junior Gia Finear both shot a 46, while junior Payton Campbell shot a 49 and junior Colette Nishanian shot a 56.
Having Niu, who averaged a 37 last year, would have helped the Sea Kings against their rivals. But Starkweather was still congratulatory of the Sailors after the match.
“We’ve got some work to do, but that’s OK,” he said. “We’ve got to work on putting, short game, speed of play, focus. Things like that happen at the beginning of the season.”
Both Back Bay programs get into league play next week. CdM plays host to Beckman on Tuesday at Newport Beach Country Club in a Pacific Coast League match, and Newport Harbor plays Huntington Beach at Seacliff Country Club in Sunset League action.
Only the Sailors, though, head into league with a Battle of the Bay victory under their collective belts.
“We’re developing, so that’s fantastic,” Tarnow said. “If we came out again, I think we would play better. It’s the first time that almost everybody has seen this course, first match, a lot of pressure. I think we could definitely shoot better … but excellent effort, all the way to the finish.”
Twitter: @mjszabo
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