By Karen Neill
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On April 22 and 23 the girls golf Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) championship tournament was held at Turtle Bay and North Shore. A four-girl team won, marking a first for the Mililani history books.
“Winning OIAs was one of the greatest experiences for all of the girls. We had so much fun, plus this was the first OIA championship for girls golf, (so) we felt overjoyed and couldn’t believe what we’ve accomplished,” said Sophomore Kira Nakamoto. Sophomore Eden Sun added, “It felt awesome to win OIAs. As a team we worked very hard and all improved our golf games. I felt like we won what we earned because we did well throughout the season and pulled out strong during OIAs.”
This being the first OIA win for the girls in Mililani history, the players feel that they could not have done it without the help of their coaches. “We are so fortunate to have coaches that push us and motivate us to do our best and we really did make history this year,” Sun explained.
The small number of players in the championship team only strengthened an already solid bond. “We are all really close. Like, we knew each other even before high school, there are no arguments or anything. We are like a family,” said Sophomore Mari Nishiura.
Although the team was considered one of the larger groups in the competition, the four participants were serious about doing well individually in order to propel themselves forward together. Nakamoto explained, “Mostly the problems we had were individual. It was all based off of how we all played as individuals.”
As a team comprised completely of sophomores who also played together in their freshman year, they feel they that they not only got closer, but were able to improve their performances. “Last year it was a lot different since it was my first time. I was unfamiliar with the people playing and was just uncomfortable because I never played an OIA tournament before,” said Sun, “This year, I was a lot more comfortable at the tournaments and practiced a lot more so my swing was more consistent (and) my high scores wouldn’t pop up.”
On April 28 and 29 the same four girls participated in the state tournament, placing third overall among 10 teams, behind Punahou and Iolani.
