Regents golf looks to win Tri-Valley League
By Wayne Harrison
Acorn Sports Writer

With only one senior, seven sophomores, and two freshmen on its roster, the La Reina golf team is headed towards an undefeated Tri-Valley Leauge season and a league championship under Bob Sisco, who is in his fourth year as Regents’ head coach.

"I think that this team is the product of a building program," said Sisco, who is assisted by Roger DeBruno. "They are all hard-driven golfers. They work at it very hard."

Sisco added, "I think we will win league and advance to the regionals. How far we go in regionals just depends on what happens with the kids. If they all bring their ‘A’ game, we’re going to be tough. We can play with anybody when we’re all playing 100 percent."

Catherine Pease is a senior captain for the Regents this season and Alana Maiello has been the leading golfer as a sophomore.

"I think Catherine (Pease) has done a really good job of providing senior leadership, and I’m sure Alana (Maiello) will do it through her actions next year," Sisco said.

Pease has been a varsity member for four years.

"It’s gotten so much better the past four years," Pease said. "I used to come out and I’d be ‘ooh, I broke 50.’" Now she consistently shoots much lower.

But Pease has other responsibilities, as the team’s only upper-classman.

"I have to make sure that everybody is getting all the attention they need," she said. "And I have to be fair with everything and I have to set an example. We’re a young team, but we’ve already broken the school record twice this season and we’re making great strides."

Jennifer Curtain is one of the seven sophomores on the squad. She said she has gotten better since her freshman year.

"I’ve improved a lot since last year and I hope to continue that improvement throughout this year and hopefully next year," said Curtain, who is trying to improve her accuracy and distance, and says she may need to get new golf clubs.

About going to school at La Reina, Curtain said, "There are not many distractions. The teachers are high quality and you learn a lot there and become more outgoing as a person."

Amanda Brookshire is another sophomore. She has a unique way of dealing with the pressure inherent to the game of golf.

"I get so frustrated, but here’s what I do," Brookshire said. "I start singing. It relaxes you." She added that though her teammates don’t join in, they enjoy the tension-breaking effect the singing provides.

"They don’t sing with me, but they laugh, so it gets them to take a deep breath and calm down," Brookshire said of her singing and her teammates.

Meanwhile, her golf game has come a long way this year.

"Last year my big thing was to break 50," Brookshire said. Now, she too consistently shoots much lower.

Sabrina Chou, also a sophomore, is feeling more comfortable with her short game than her driving and hopes "to improve my hitting and lower my score.’

Chou sized up high school golf in terms of individual and team.

"Most of it is individual because you’re playing for yourself, you’re not playing against your opponent," she said. "It’s you and the (golf) course. But there are team aspects in the support we give each other and after matches we go to dinner and bond – that’s really important, too."

Pease described her teams’goals: "If we improve something every single match – like ‘I just putted well one match’ or ‘I drove the ball well another match’ – sooner or later it’s going to come together. That’s our goal for the end of the season."

The coach said as important as golfing mechanics or performances are the team members’ interactions with one another.

"The thing that’s really nice is they genuinely like each other," Sisco said. "All of them, during practice days, they’re helping each other. They get along, they’re pulling for each other all the time."

The Regents’ roster is rounded out with sophomores Geraldine O’Sullivan, Morgan Lucas and Allison Poe and freshmen Christiana Catapang and Amber Foschaar.