After a record breaking fall, the Whitney Young girls golf team finished strong, taking home the city championship late this past September. This year was one for the books, including a team best 161-stroke showing against Jones College Prep, where senior Meilin Hoshino finished with an intimidating 36-stroke game. After besting Jone, Lane Tech, Payton at the city championship, 4 of our seniors will be advancing downstate. We sat down with captain Meilin Hoshino to discuss this year, her relationship with golf and big things to come. 

CA: Meilin, when and why did you start playing golf in the first place?

MH: So I started playing when I was 2 when I was in Ecuador. I didn’t have much to do on the weekends so my parents put me into a golf course.

CA: How would you describe your atmosphere within your team? How do you all work together toward an ultimate goal?

MH: Our team is very united. We have a lot of team spirit. Every time we go to a match we chant “Golfing Dolphins” on 3. Our couch is also really wonderful, she keeps our team really united as well. There is no tension or toxic vibes.

CA: What do you think prepared your team to take home the city championship?

MH: We won all of our matches up to city as well so we were really prepared. During the summer the team practiced a lot too, so that is what I think helped us win city, and like I said our team is really bonded so that helped motivate us as well.

CA: As team captain and a senior, what advice would you give your younger teammates who aspire to be in your spot one day?

MH: One piece of advice is keep the team united, keep them motivated to practice, win tournaments, and cheer each other on a lot and everything will be okay.

CA: What was your favorite moment from this season, on or off the course?

MH: It was definitely winning city. It was really fun watching the other girls play. So, when I finished playing I would go watch the other girls and when they finished playing we’d all go watch the rest of the girls together. We all really cheered for each other and that was my favorite moment.

CA: So you were a medalist at regionals, in fact you had the best individual score. Walk me through your performance.

MH: At first, I was playing with a girl who was really good too. I think by the fifth hole I was losing by 1 to her. I was trying not to focus on the fact she was winning but just focus on my game. I think that helped me keep up my good performance until the end. I think I noticed she was getting nervous which is why her score was getting worse. I also knew that there might be other girls who were not playing with me that could be better than me, so I had to just think about my score.

CA: So the team did not advance, but you did, and so did Ariya, Jasmine, and Isabella. When do you guys play next?

MH: So we play sectionals on Monday and we have a practice round on Sunday.

CA: If somebody were to want to get involved with girls’ golf and didn’t know how to, and they were interested in girls’ golf, who should they reach out to?

MH: So they could reach out to Coach Johnson, or they could reach out to any player on the team.