'Stangs Choi 2nd in opening Centennial match

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director
Sophomore fires 1-under 64; freshman Zingler, senior Sowitch are next.
 
AURORA -- Mullen girls golfers were first on the tee on Wednesday to open Mustangs spring sports.

And one of them grabbed a second.

Sofia Choi fired a 1-under-par 64 for second place at Springhill Golf Course and the Mustangs were fourth as a team in the first Centennial League match of 2020.

“It was a good day,” Mullen head coach Ashley Tait-Wengert said.

Choi, a sophomore who was runner-up a year ago at the Class 4A Colorado tournament, began her season with an even-par 32 on the front 9, shot another 32 for 1-under on the back nine and had two birdies on each side of the usually well-kept executive course.

“It was pretty nice out,” she said of the unusually good weather so early in the season. “This place plays pretty normal.”

In order to get better, Choi said she made a complete swing change “to use my body more and get more distance out of it. It’s so I can be more accurate and consistent. And in putting, I changed my grip.”

Promising freshman Kaitlin Zingler was next for the Mustangs, shooting 76 for a tie for 11th. She began her prep career by going double bogey, bogey, par, double bogey, but went out in 37 and came home in 39.

Senior Paige Sowitch was 17th with 84 and junior Elle Deoria (91) tied for 23rd.

Teamwise, Cherry Creek totaled 272 to win the match. Arapahoe (301) was secnd and Cherokee Trail (311) third. The Mustangs were fourth at 315. 

Eaglecrest junior Emma Bryant, a state champion as a freshman, led the field with a 5-under 60, including five birdies.

The Mustangs will resume play on March 23, when they will be in the Wolverine Invitational hosted by Chaparral, 10 a.m., at Valley Country Club, a unique format that will include the play of coaches.

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