Xavier Prep downs Hamilton in potential girls' high school golf championship preview
Two of Arizona's top girls high school golf programs faced off this week in a potential Division I championship preview.
Xavier and Hamilton, which finished second and third in the D-I state team finals last year behind first-place Liberty, met Wednedsay at Phoenix Country Club. The two programs have been among the top three finishers in the state finals since 2016. Xavier has won the state team title nine times since 2011. Hamilton has finished second or third since 2016.
This week's match wasn't close, as Xavier won by 13 strokes.
As a team Xavier shot 3-under to Hamilton's 10-over.
Xavier junior Kate Hauptman and senior Annie Dawson led the way for the Gators, finishing first and second respectively among individual scores.
Hauptman finished her round with birdies on two of her last three holes.
The match was a good bounce-back for Hauptman after struggling in the team's most recent tournament at the Brophy Rodeo. Dawson continued her hot streak, as she was the top individual scorer in the Brophy Rodeo.
Prior to the match, Xavier head coach Tui Selvaratnam challenged her team to shoot even par or under for the round.
Selvaratnam said she was not expecting the final score to be so one-sided.
"I didn't expect to win by such a large margin. I thought it was going to be very close and come down to the last player. I'm very happy that my team played well,'' she said.
Despite taking the loss, Hamilton head coach Jackie Walker isn't concerned about her group of golfers in the long run.
"We know how to step up our game and how to compete. When they know its time to get the job done, they lock in and get the job done," said Walker.
There were bright spots for the Huskies.
Last year's D-I individual state champion, senior Jennifer Seo, finished the day 1-under, tying her for third place in the match. Seo, The Arizona Republic's girls' high school golfer of the year last season, has been steadily improving ever since she won the 2021 championship.
Her sister, Laura, had her best round on the team, finishing even for the match.
Hamilton will face two other championship contenders, Pinnacle and Liberty, in two of their next three matches.
Xavier faces Liberty later this season.
"This was good competition for us and now we know where we are at," said Selvaratnam.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Xavier Prep beat Hamilton in girls high school golf Wednesday
