For many high school golf teams, having four boys and three girls qualifying for the state championship would be something to celebrate. Despite achieving just that, the general feeling throughout the varsity golf team is slight disappointment.

According to golf coach Mike Fisher, who has led the team to one state championship in his four years as coach, the team is approaching states as a way to prove their talent.

“We’ve underperformed, but we still have states for one last opportunity to see what we can do,” Fisher said.

The team placed fifth out of the eight teams in its division this season, a relatively low standing considering the team’s recent success.

According to Fisher, this is due to a discrepancy between how team members perform during practice and games.

“Our top 10 players’ average practice round scores for 9 holes is 38.3, while our match scores for the low six players averages 40.67,” Fisher said. “I credit this discrepancy partly on stress management. “

Though stress may be one of the biggest reasons behind this season’s frustrations, some players believe there are other factors to be considered.

According to senior Kathleen Gaultney, the team’s  large size this season, due to a large amount of incoming freshman, was another reason for the difficulties.

“The reason we have been underperforming is because the team is so big,” Gaultney said. “We split up during practices and divide ourselves instead of working together to improve. When we do come together, there is improvement.”

Despite the trials of this season, the team’s coaching staff believes they helped to develop the underclassmen.

“The season was successful in that it provided the nine freshmen the opportunity to compete and see how their games compared to other high school golfers,” Fisher said. “They found out that there were few golfers from other schools that are as talented as they are.”