The Palo Alto High School boys’ golf team (11-1, 9-0) adapted to tough conditions en route to a comfortable 183-194 win over crosstown rival Gunn High School (10-1) on Tuesday at Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course.
Freshmen Ahmed Ali and Joonsung Ha led the Vikings with even par-scores of 35 apiece.
Ali played down the importance of tying first in individual scoring.
“As long as I help my team out in any way, I’m happy,” Ali said.
Senior captains Alex Hwang and John Knowles shot 36 and 40, respectively. Junior Matthew Lewis also shot 40, while fellow junior Henry Gordon rounded out the win with a score of 37.
Coach Doyle Knight added that the win showed that the team is shaping up well for upcoming post-season matches.
“I was proud of [the team] today,” Knight said. “They shot low even with the wind, and it bodes well for our league tournament and CCS. It was nice we were finally able to play a competitive team [Gunn].”
Gunn senior captain Jack Jaffe noted the effect of the windy conditions on the match.
“Our team struggled with the wind and putting,” Jaffe said. “But if we work on our games diligently for the next couple of weeks we should be able to challenge Paly in our next match as well as the SCVAL league tournament.”
According to Hwang, the rivalry was exacerbated by the two teams’ familiarity with each other.
“We see them every day at practice because they share our practice facility,” Hwang said. “As a Paly golfer, they’ve always been the team in the back of my mind for the past 4 years, so it was nice to beat them in my last year.”
The team’s next match is against Los Altos High School at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at Palo Alto Hills Country Club.