Despite hail and winds up to 30 miles per hour the day before, the Warriors golf team finished second in their first Foothill conference match at Spring Valley Lakes Country Club on Feb. 27.

“The weather turned out to be great,” sophomore Ryan Saldana said. “It was nice to play in 55 to 65 degree weather compared to our practice round which hailed and had gusts up to 30 miles per hour or more.”

The team finished second among the five teams competing and finished behind power house College of The Desert, who hasn’t lost a Foothill conference match in more than four years.

Despite the second place finish, Saldana believes that the team still has room to improve and move forward.

“No matter how well we play, we can always do better,” Saldana said. “Last Monday was the perfect example. Even though we placed second out of five teams, College of the Desert was still able to take first by far.”

The team boasts experience with 4 sophomores and 4 freshmen who competed in their first conference match.

“I’m sure they were a little nervous,” Saldana said. “But they are solid players and everyone on the team has the capability to score low.”

Saldana had a good showing, finishing tied for first overall, despite leaving some shots on the course.

“I ended up playing well,” Saldana said. “I definitely left a few strokes out on the golf course, but finishing tied for first in the first conference match of the year feels pretty good.”

Before his next match, Saldana already knows what he will work on during the team’s practice round.

“I will focus on studying the course and knowing where I want to be shot by shot,” Saldana said. “It’s critical to know the course and knowing where to miss off the tee and where to land on the greens can change your round drastically.”

Stacy Komai, golf coach,  has a positive outlook for this year’s golf team.

“They are doing pretty well right now,” Komai said. “They are in second place in the conference match.”

Komai said that it really depends on the day, the course and the conditions when figuring out how well a particular player will do.

“They all practice a lot,” Komai said. “It’s really only the mental errors that they have to work out.”

“We are very hard workers and we are looking forward to getting to the state championships this year,” freshman Michael Phillips said.