The Portland Interscholastic League holds five league matches at each of the five Portland Parks and Recreation-owned golf courses. The Cleveland girls golf team finished second to Wilson in the first two matches, and took first at the last three. However, Wilson still won the league title as they had built up a substantial lead from the first two matches.

“It was amazing to see everyone’s scores improve throughout this season, and we definitely became a stronger and more cohesive team this year,” said Elizabeth Long, junior and co-captain.

Freshman Kyra Ly came into the season with several years of tournament experience and emerged as the individual PIL champion, earning her a spot in the state tournament. In addition, junior Isabel Vega placed sixth, Long finished seventh, and sophomore Sydney Schubert came in eighth place in the PIL.

The regional tournament, held on May 6 at Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City, proved a fantastic day for the team. They finished in second place to Westview and qualified for the state tournament. “Our state qualification was a group effort, and it felt like all our hard work over the season had come to fruition,” Long said.

Stone Creek is known for large, deep sand traps, so coach Lauri Hausafus emphasized sand practice leading up to the event. “The sand traps at Stone Creek can be quite intimidating, but I am proud of the way the girls put the practice in to prepare for them,” she said.

The state tournament was held on May 13 and 14 and consisted of two rounds of golf at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks. It was the first experience at state for any of Cleveland’s five varsity players. Ultimately, Cleveland finished last out of 14 teams.

“There was a whole new level of excitement with galleries of spectators and a field of amazingly talented young women. The team has said they want to come back next year and place in the top ten,” Hausafus said. “I don’t doubt they will do it!”

Individually, Kyra Ly finished in 14th place with rounds of 77 and 79. She feels that this was not her best. “My practice rounds are always better than my tournament rounds, so I felt like I could have done much better than I did at state,” Ly said.

This spring, Hausafus and assistant coach Patsy Pitts hosted a fundraiser golf tournament at Eastmoreland Golf Course for the first time. “It was wonderful to experience all of the support from people in our community – family, friends, alumni and people from Eastmoreland Golf Course came out to play, support and donate to the team,” Hausafus said.

Coach Hausafus hopes to continue building a positive community in the years to come. “My goal is to find that sweet spot where they are striving to improve, and pushing to get better, while also having a lot of fun. I feel this is the perfect group to do just that,” she said.

This emphasis on a positive atmosphere made new players feel welcome and comfortable. “I enjoyed laughing and joking around with my teammates and always having fun when we are at practice or after a match,” Ly said.

Next year, the team hopes to win the PIL and place higher at state. All five varsity players plan on working hard over the summer and will be returning next year. “I am really proud of everything our team has accomplished this season, and I know next year will be even better,” Long said.