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| Girls golfers break new ground |
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| Written by Mike Vanden Bosch / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 17 October 2007 | |
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MODESTO — When Patterson High girls golf coach Jason Oliveira set foot on the practice range at Diablo Grande back in August, he wasn’t shy about raising the bar of expectations. “Our goal, first and foremost, was to be in the top three in league,” Oliveira said. “And we wanted to be the first Patterson team to qualify as a team for subsections.” Patterson achieved both goals by finishing third at Monday’s Valley Foothill League meet and advancing five golfers to next week’s subsection Division V tournament at Diablo Grande. Patterson finished the regular season with a 10-4 record in the VFL, behind undefeated Central Catholic at 14-0 and Hughson at 12-2. “The girls have worked hard all year for this,” Oliveira said. “All our preseason goals have been attained. I’m proud of the girls.” For Oliveira and Patterson’s squad, the victory was bittersweet after the death of 17-year-old senior Korre Mitchell early Saturday morning in an automobile crash east of town. Oliveira was Mitchell’s fourth-grade teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School. Several golfers knew the cheerleader and softball player firsthand and were visibly affected by her death as they went into the season finale. “It was a very difficult day for us,” Oliveira said. “Our minds and hearts were not on the golf course. I didn’t expect them to be. The girls decided they were going to try their best, despite their emotions. I understand the grief they’re going through.” Following a pre-meet talk that dealt with the subdued, somber mood of the team, Patterson persevered by shooting a team tally of 522 on the par-72 course at Dryden. Jessica Hansen led Patterson with a round of 116. Molly Conte shot 129 and Brooke Borba carded a 133. Hansen, Conte and Borba earned All-League honors by placing in the top 12. “We had a goal at the beginning of the year that we wanted to be one of the top teams in league,” Hansen said. “We thought it was possible. We knew we could get a couple girls advancing, but to get the whole team is what no other team has ever done. It’s inspiring to be the team that did that.” Hansen, a four-year varsity starter, shook off a brief stretch of double bogeys to shoot par on four consecutive holes.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “It was early in the morning, and once I got my brain working, I was trying to focus on what my dad (Phil Hansen) was telling me to fix,” Hansen said. “I was keeping my head down and making sure I swung with my lower body first.” Kendra Young wasn’t far behind Borba with a round of 144, followed by Sam Leslie’s score of 161. “I told them that, despite everything, I was so proud of how they handled themselves and how they represented their school and themselves,” Oliveira said. “They played through a lot of emotional pain and came through on the other side with a positive.” Central Catholic, led by medalist Jessica Ferlman’s round of 94, topped the league meet with a team score of 468. Hughson was second at 518. Though Patterson’s postseason aspirations put it on a collision course with teams from seven other leagues at the Division V tournament, Oliveira said he will relish the record-breaking season. “We’ll just go out there and prepare to do our best and give it our best shot at succeeding,” Oliveira said. “If we advance as a team or individually to the section tournament, that’s wonderful. If not, so be it. We’ve reached our goals.” To reach Play Editor Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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