Liberty golf captures first NWSC title

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune

The Northwest Sequoia Conference champion Liberty Hawks girls golf team is honored during last week’s football game. They captured the first golf league title in the school’s history. From left are Melania Romero, Zoe Flores, Hannah Carpenter, Savannah Hieger, Jewelyssa Rodriguez, Bailey Alexander, Sadie Myers and head coach Joe Rico.

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The Liberty Hawks athletic programs moved into a new league/conference this season and the girls golf team captured the school’s first conference championship.

The girls golf team, not only won the first Northwest Sequoia Conference title, but they also won the first league/conference title in the program’s history.

“We are a very young team with only two returners from last year,” head coach Joe Rico said. “At the start of the season, I did not know what to expect since the rest of the girls were freshman and had never played golf before.”

Assisted by Jay Pumarejo, Rico went to work and made sure the girls were able to hit the ball consistently.

“What helped is that the girls have played other sports in the past, which helped the girls pick up the game fairly easily,” Rico said.

In the first competition, three of the freshman outscored two returners.

“That is when I know we had something special with this team,” Rico said. “Each week the girls got better and better.”

The Hawks ended up winning five NWSC mini-tournaments and the 18-hole conference title.

“We have high hopes for these girls in the upcoming years,” Rico said.