Great Golfing Gators!
Xavier golf team wins its 25th state championship

By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
November 16, 2006

LAVEEN — Xavier College Preparatory’s golf team won its 25th state championship title at Aguila Golf Course Nov. 7.

The Gators shot a combined 570 for the two-day tournament, beating the previous state record by seven shots. Cheyenne Woods, a junior and niece of professional golfer Tiger Woods, had the best individual score of 136.

The win capped an undefeated season marked by determination and discipline.

Sr. Lynn Winsor, BVM, coach of the golf team, described the level of commitment required of the golfers.

“We have two matches a week and we practice twice a week. On the weekends they have to play 18 holes, giving me a scorecard on Monday signed by their parents to verify it,” she said. “That’s a typical week. It’s a pretty big commitment.”

Practicing their game doesn’t end with the season either. During the summer, coaches strongly encourage the golfers to play eight tournaments and 18 sets of 18 holes.

Though the summer play is not technically required of the students, Sr. Lynn said, “They all do it. The kids that come here are very interested in golf.”

Xavier’s golf program is known nationally both for the amount of state championships it has won and for the caliber of golfer it produces.

Sr. Lynn said the legacy began in 1979 with Xavier golfer Heather Farr. She went on to play for Arizona State University and the Ladies Professional Golf Association before succumbing to breast cancer at age 28.

“We have a reputation for golf and we really help the players out academically. Nearly all of them go on to college,” Sr. Lynn said, noting that Xavier golfers are required to spend one day a week at an after-school study hall.

That requirement helps the students who have to juggle a strenuous course load in addition to hours of practice.

“It gets challenging at times,” said Ashley Smith, a senior golfer at Xavier. “Sometimes you get home from practice and you have three hours of homework. But that’s just what you do. It’s the sacrifice of being on the golf team.”

Smith plans on attending ASU next year to study the sciences and play on the university’s golf team.

She felt prepared for last week’s tournament, noting the value of team camaraderie in a sport often characterized as solitary.

“The team is very important. We have great chemistry and everyone gets along really well,” she said.

“This is the secret of being a great team,” Sr. Lynn said. “You take a group of really talented individuals and they mold together. Then they’re working for the benefit not of themselves, but of the school.”

The team prepared for the tournament by studying the lay of Aguila’s course, discussing each potential shot and mentally preparing themselves for tournament play.

To help with the preparation, Sr. Lynn brought in two outside experts who usually work with professional golfers.

Senior golfer Alexia Brown said the talk laid important groundwork for the tournament.

“It helped a lot. Some of the stuff they told us we never really heard before, like techniques to really visualize your shot,” she said.