Team effort has San Mateo golf atop the table

“I’m a little surprised,” Ikeda said. “I have a bunch of good kids this year. I was in Hawaii on vacation just before school started and the girls called me and said they wanted to play a round and asked to set up tee times.

“I’ve had some really good golfers, but this year, they like being with each other and playing golf.”

If there is a formula to high school golf success, the Bearcats have it. They have a pair of solid seniors, Lynn Sasaki and Jackie Louie, to help guide some talented youngsters. Sasaki led San Mateo with a 6-over 41 in its season-opening match against defending Bay Division champ Menlo-Atherton. Playing an unfamiliar course at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park, the Bearcats still managed to slip past the Bears, posting a 247-249 win.

“[The win] gave them some confidence that they can compete,” Ikeda said.

But one golfer — or one round — does not a season make. Sasaki may be the Bearcats’ No. 1 player in the lineup, but freshman Lindsey Huang is proving she is the heir apparent for the Bearcats’ top spot for the next couple years. Through five matches, Huang had carded the low round three times. In a Week 2, 233-287 win over Burlingame, Huang shot a 5-over 40 at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo. She followed that with a 2-over 37 in a 220-245 win over Aragon and had a 4-over 39 in the Bearcats’ 224-294 win over Hillsdale Monday.

“I knew she played golf,” Ikeda said of Huang. “But she’s been another pleasant surprise. She plays [juniors] tournaments now and then. She’s a sweet girl and she has a great swing.”

Depth is another sign of a good team and the Bearcats proved in Wednesday’s 227-277 win over Burlingame that they have several players who can lead the team to victory. Wednesday, it was sophomore Zoe Pang who led the Bearcats, finishing with a 6-over 41.

“It’s really nice [to have depth],” Ikeda said. “[Sasaki] is my No. 1, but if she doesn’t play well, someone else steps up. [Wednesday], Zoe played really well.”

The Bearcats certainly have the motivation to do well this season. In 2017, they finished in second place behind M-A in the Bay Division, which earned the first of two automatic Central Coast Section bids. That put San Mateo into a play-in match against Ocean Division champion Carlmont.

Usually a first-year program coming out the Ocean Division is not one a Bay Division team really worries about, but the Scots — led by Viveka Kurup — were more of a Bay Division squad and they proved it, going 10-0 in Ocean play and smashing the Bearcats to grab the league’s second CCS bid and leaving San Mateo on the outside looking.

“[Carlmont] had a great team last year. … They played lights-out and they deserved to go (to CCS),” Ikeda said. “I think that gives us a little more incentive and motivation to practice a little more and make CCS.”

The Bearcats are not ready to claim the title, however. Not with two matches against Carlmont still yet to play. The two are tentatively scheduled to play their first match Monday, but that could be up in the air because Carlmont students have the day off.

And while San Mateo has played five matches, the Scots have only played twice.

The Bearcats did get a look at Carlmont during the Helen Lengfeld Tournament that San Mateo hosts at Poplar Creek, a tournament comprised of the some of the best teams in CCS. Ikeda said his team finished in the middle of the pack. But against PAL play, he said his team was only a stroke or two behind the Scots.

“We know we can compete with them,” Ikeda said. “[My team is] looking forward to playing them. They just say, ‘Whatever happens, we’ll just give it our best.’ As a coach, that’s all you can ask.”

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.