Both the girls' (201-240) and boys' (165-176) golf teams defeated Episcopal High School (Alexandria, VA) in a season-opening match played at Belle Haven Country Club March 28.

The girls' team showed some early season nerves, but still prevailed with Sihyeon Bae '24 leading the way with a 47 that could have been much lower but for a couple of tough holes.  Next in the scoring was Amanda Xi '25, who finished just a stroke behind with a 48. Captain Plern Pibuldham '23, Abby Yang '25 and Kate Kalinowski '24 all shot 53.

"It feels good to get things going and the course was quirky with challenging greens," head coach Doug Smith commented. "I don't think any of the girls are particularly happy with their scores on the day, but they are positive about the upcoming matches and had a lot of fun on the course. We need to clean up our short game and if we do that these girls will reach their potential sooner than later."

The boys were led by Argyle Downes '24, who picked up right where left off in the fall and fired a sparkling 34 to lead the team and take medalist honors for the match. That crucial second low score was due to a rock solid performance by Jason Jones '24, who shot a 40 that featured outstanding ball striking. Co-captains Ethan Xin '23 and Daniel Zhong '23 fired a 45 and a 46 respectively to round out the team score.

"It feels good to be back on the course and this is a great early season match coming out of the winter" said coach Smith. "Argyle was in midseason form already and just seems to have complete control of his game. I'm not disappointed with the result of the match at all, but we have another gear in us that we need to get started and build as the matches start coming on the schedule. There is work to be done, but this is a fine start."

The girls turn right around and play at Bryn Mawr (PA) School on Wednesday, March 29 at 3:30 pm while the next match for the boys is on Saturday, April 1 at noon against Bishop O'Connell high school (Arlington, VA). That match will be held at the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, DC.