BOZEMAN — The Bozeman High girls golf team is off to a red hot start to begin the season.
So far, the team is undefeated on the season, winning at Great Falls a few weeks ago and Billings this week.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year, so it’s kind of a surprise," said senior Sami Yates. "We had a lot of girls work really hard this summer, and we’ve just been working so hard this season and lots of girls have showed so much improvement, and it’s been fun to keep winning, but we know there’s still a long way to go. We just have to keep working really hard.”
Their play has made new head coach Ryan Nelson’s life go smoothly.
“I’m excited to be able to take over program that’s so well-established and has such great senior leadership and a lot of talent as well,” he said.
The Hawks' success can be contributed not only to senior leadership, but also having a positive mentality.
“They’re so positive with each other out there," Nelson said. "Whether someone hits a bad shot, it’s OK, kind of next shot kind of thing. They stay within themselves, really positive out there.”
The players reiterated what their coach said.
“I think we’re really team-oriented, so we all help each other, keep our heads held high, help each other if somebody is down or had a bad shot, remind them that it’s OK,” said Cooper Knarr, a senior on the team.
The seniors have taken the younger members of the team under their wings, as they remember what it was like to have former Bozeman High golfer and Women’s Amateur state champion Annika Danenhauer help them out.
“It’s really fun because you can give them some advice and just kind of remembering how it was when I was in their shoes just a couple of years ago," Knarr said. "It feels really weird to be a senior, it doesn’t feel like it at all. It kind of just brings all the memories back.”
Besides being good mentors, the seniors are just happy to be able play with all that has been going on.
“It means a lot. I’ve been looking forward to my senior season since I was a freshman, and that fact we still get to play, even though it’s one-day tournaments, it just feels really great,” said Yates.
