The Boulder City High School girls golf team is playing very well this season for long-time head coach Gina Quintero after practicing hard all summer and competing in a number of tournaments. However, for the first time in the past 15 years, Quintero has not been able to field a full team of five golfers, and the girls can't earn points as a team in league matches.
"We have two girls that should make it to the division championships this year," Quintero said. "Ashley Vince and Margot Potter are both playing very well, and should finish the season in the top eight of the league. We can't compete in the matches as a team this year because we only have four golfers out for the squad."
The girls still are able to compete in matches as individuals and would be battling for second place in the NIAA Southern Class 3A Division if they had that important fifth golfer.
"I think we're playing well this season," Vince said. "Everybody's improved their game, and we're becoming more competitive."
There are no seniors on the squad, which will bode well for next year. Margot Potter, Bethany Smith and Vince are all juniors, and Bridget Ward is a sophomore.
On Sept. 20, the team competed in a league match at the par 72 Mountain Falls Golf Course in Pahrump. The Pahrump Valley Trojans won at home with 466 points. The Virgin Valley Bulldogs finished second with 494 points, and the Faith Lutheran Crusaders were third with 577 points. Boulder City and the Moapa Valley Pirates didn't have enough players and couldn't compete as teams.
Individually, Potter shot well for the Lady Eagles and finished in third place with an 88, and Vince was sixth with a 93.
Potter is in fourth place in the Division 3A Southern Nevada girls golf standings with 38.5 points. Vince is in eighth place with 31 points, and Smith and Ward are tied for 13th place with 10 points.
On Sept. 13, the Lady Eagles hosted a league match at the par 72 Boulder Creek Golf Course on a very windy day. The Trojans won again with 491 points, the Bulldogs were second with 513 points, and the Crusaders third with 580 points.
Potter led the Boulder City golfers with a 94, and Vince was right behind her with a 97.
Vince led the team for the first half of the season, but Potter has really gotten hot in the past couple of weeks and taken over the top spot for Boulder City.
"I love playing golf," Vince said. "It's a lot of fun, but you have to have plenty of patience. That's why a lot of my friends don't do it. I plan on working very hard on my golf game this summer, so I can do really well during my senior year."
Vince just started playing golf in eighth grade, in the middle school program. Her strength is her driving, and she can hit that little ball quite far.
She said she hopes to attend UNLV to study forensics when she graduates from Boulder City and would love to earn a golf scholarship.
"We'd really need to attract a fifth player for 2008 so we can compete as a team," Vince said. "If anybody's interested, come on out and join us. You'll enjoy it."
The Southern Class Division 3A Championship Tournament was Oct. 10 at the Palms Country Club in Mesquite, and the 2007 Class 3A Girls Golf State Championships are today and Wednesday at the Palm Valley Country Club in Las Vegas.
Quintero hopes to have Potter and Vince qualify for the division playoff tournament, and do well enough to compete individually at the state championships. Perhaps one or both of them can bring home some championship medals for the Lady Eagles.
"Even though we only have four players, the girls are still out there working hard in the heat, and they're getting better each week," Quintero said. "I like how their scores are improving every match they play."
The Boulder City girls golfers are recruiting heavily for that fifth and sixth golfer for next year. They will be working with Sherwood Jones at Garrett Middle School on a series of golfing clinics in the spring.
"We're hoping to recruit some more golfers at the middle school program we do in the spring," Quintero said. "It's for both boys and girls and usually starts in late March. We need to get that fifth person for next year, and we could be right up there with Pahrump and Virgin Valley."
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