This is the second season that the Thunderbird Girls Golf Team has been competing as a Division II team and their accomplishments this season have been groundbreaking.
Although golf is usually considered an individual sport, the camaraderie that this team has formed has allowed them all to attain many achievements. Four of the teens had the opportunity to attend the District Championship Tournament at Arizona Traditions Golf Club. This tournament lasted for 6 hours and was one of the hottest days in the summer, but the girls pushed through and beat Sunnyslope by nine strokes for the District Champions title. When one of the juniors on the team was asked how they felt after winning the tournament, she replied, “Even though the conditions were rough, it was great spending time with the team and bonding over something that we all enjoy.” The Lowest Score award was won by Bella Slattery, who has been the team captain of the team for the past two years. When Bella was asked how she felt about her winning the award and the team persevering through the hot day, she replied by explaining that she felt that “it was extremely rewarding seeing our hard work pay off. I see how much effort all of us put into practice each day and it makes me extremely proud to be their captain.”
A few weeks later, the team had a one-day tournament at the Palmbrook Country Club where they competed against 15 other teams at the O’Connor Girls Golf Invitational. They played against many Division 1 schools such as Pinnacle and Liberty and ended up earning 8th place. They won against all of the other Division II schools and their team captain earned 8th place out of 75 girls. When Coach Flores was asked how he felt about the team’s efforts and accomplishments, he stated, “I have never felt more proud of this team, their positive attitudes and ability to support one another makes them stronger together, which is what matters most in the end. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season holds for us.” Coach Flores is obviously extremely proud of this group of golfers and is hoping that they will have the opportunity to continue their success and potentially make it to State.
Now, the golf team is first in Division II and 38th in all Divisions. The Thunderbird Girls’ Team has worked extremely hard to reach this accomplishment and there is still another month that the team has to move up in ranking and make it to State.
