Paly’s Varsity golfers are hoping to end their phenomenal season on a positive note as they move into CCS Sectionals today at Rancho Canada-West.

The Vikings advanced into this round after placing third in the CCS Regional Tournament on May 11-12 also at Rancho Canada.

The Regional Tournament had 21 teams and 166 players. On each day, the lowest-scoring four teams and eight individuals, not on qualifying teams, advanced to the Sectional tournament. On the second day, the team came in second place, behind St. Francis. Junior Will Haydon shot 71, placing fourth individually. Sophomores Natty Stern and Max Rausch, shot 72 and 73 respectively, senior Andy Livingston shot 78, senior John Robinson shot 80, and freshman William Chan shot 94.

Overall, the team placed third with a score of 378, behind first place St. Francis with 365, and second place Bellarmine with 374.

This advancement came as another of many successes the team has had this season. The Vikings ended the season undefeated 12-0 after Fremont had only three players show to their last match. Paly won by default. They also placed first at the SCVAL league Championship.

It was at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course par 72, on May 3-4. The first day was sweltering hot with no wind at all. Paly shot 392, and second place Saratoga shot 407. Haydon and Stern were both medalists with each scoring par.

The second day was also hot, but there was wind, which played a huge part in each shot. Paly shot 408, 16 shots higher then the first day, and Saratoga shot 397. The medalist for the second day was Tyler Ichikawa from Mountain View High School who shot 69.

Paly with 800, and Saratoga with 804, places first and second respectively in the tournament, giving them each slots in the CCS Regional Tournament. Haydon was the 2-day medalist with scores of 72 and 75, who is also currently ranked 34th nationally. Los Gatos, Mountain View, Monta Vista, and Homestead also competed, but did not have good enough scores to qualify.

"Paly’s talent and depth is what keeps us winning out over our competitors’ and why we attained another team goal: to be league champions," Paly coach Gerry Benton said. "Now we need to bring our level of play up a notch and ‘bring it’ to compete successfully next week at the CCS Regional Tournament. It will be a fun challenge and we’ve got the determination and talent to compete with the best."

It certainly seems they do, since they were able to bring up their level of play and qualify for the CCS Sectional Tournament. Eight teams and 49 individuals will play in this tournament, and three teams and eight individuals, not on qualifying teams, will qualify for the Nor-Cal Tournament, which the Vikings played in last year for the first time in Paly golf history. If Paly places in the low three teams at Nor-Cal, it will qualify for the state championship on June 8 at the Santa Maria Golf Course in Santa Maria.