By Pete Borello
At the end of last week’s Central Coast Section championship tournament, St. Francis High golf coach Dave Ferriera approached a group of his players to find out how the team had fared. Their expressions gave nothing away.
“I wasn’t sure if they had won, finished second or what; there wasn’t any jubilation or excitement” said Ferriera, who didn’t get to follow his players around the course because he had to marshal the event with the other teams’ coaches. “They were nonchalant. I guess they’re not going to get excited until it’s all done.”
Turns out the Lancers won the title, their second straight, by a whopping 14 strokes. Their team score of 288 marked their best 18-hole round of the year.
But the celebration would have to wait — there was another match to play. Winning the section guaranteed St. Francis a spot in the Northern California championships, played Monday (after the Town Crier went to press) at Mira Vista Golf & Country Club in El Cerrito.
“We still have one more to go, and we want to keep that in perspective,” said junior Kevin Lozares after posting the top score at the May 14 CCS finals at Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel. “We’ve been focused on the postseason all year.”
That focus, according to Ferriera, has much to do with the team’s success.
“They’re very job-like in their approach, and they don’t get nervous,” the coach said. “They just go out and get it done.”
And did they ever get it done at the CCS tournament, played in foggy and windy conditions on Rancho Canada’s West Course.
Lozares shot a 4-under-par 67, two strokes better than anyone else. However, the medal went to runner-up Rob Grube of Robert Louis Stevenson because Lozares did not qualify for CCS as an individual. Lozares’ score included a sizzling 31 on the front nine.
“He played remarkably well,” Ferriera said.
The Lancers’ five other competitors weren’t too shabby, either. Junior Mike Jensen and freshman Joseph Bramlett each shot 73, sophomore Alberto Lata 75, senior Chris Whalen 76 and junior Brett Giurlani 77.
Only the top four scores make up the team score, but the Lancers still would have won the title if they threw out their two best scores.’
Yet Lozares believes St. Francis can perform even better.
“To be honest, we haven’t played that well. With the exception of me (at the CCS finals) and Chris Whalen (first at the CCS regionals), we haven’t scored up to our potential,” he said. “If all of us play well, we can win anything we play in.”
Sines impresses coach
Los Altos High’s Charlie Sines, one of the few freshmen to qualify individually for the final, finished tied for 12th with a 74.
“That was excellent,” Eagles coach David Blasquez said of Sines’ effort. “He did a great job.”
The 12th-year coach sees a bright future ahead for Sines.
“What makes him so impressive is his overall consistency,” Blasquez said. “And he’s just going to get bigger and stronger.”
Los Altos’ other qualifier, senior Dave Cline, shot a 79. Cline was just 1-under par at the turn, Blasquez said, then struggled on three or four holes.
