Breakers reload

A telling moment came for the Laguna Beach girls’ golf team prior to the start of one of its biggest matches of the season.

Plenty was on the line when the Breakers took on Estancia on Oct. 1 in what was the key Golden West League match to date. The battle was between the top two teams from a year ago, when Laguna managed to twice defeat the Eagles en route to winning the school’s first league title in the program’s nine-year history.

The winner of the Oct. 1 match would take the lead in the race for this year’s crown and if that wasn’t enough for the Breakers to contend with, they were challenged additionally.

One of those challenges came from two of the team’s top performers. The other was from Coach Val Quigley.

“My goal for the girls was to have them shoot double-bogie golf, which is a 55 score on the San Clemente course,” Quigley explained. “Some of the girls in the middle of the pack for us have been shooting in the 50s and I really wanted them to focus on shooting double bogie.

“The girls also got a pep talk from Grace [Komoroczy] and Karina [Shaw], who urged them to make sure that everyone got their putts within two feet of the hole. That pep talk seemed to have resonated with the girls because they went out and did a fantastic job.”

Led by Komoroczy, who was match medalist by shooting a three-over-par 40, Shaw, who had a 41, and sophomore Christianne Kinder, who inked a personal best score of 50 with just 13 putts on the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course, Laguna came away with a 235-240 victory against the Eagles.

No Breaker shot over 54.

“Laguna girls traditionally come through in the important league matches and today wasn’t any different,” Quigley said. “The girls shot our lowest team score of the season and it came at a great time, playing Estancia for first place in league. The girls were so elated to win that match.

“All the girls played great. Overall, Christianne has been putting very well lately and it’s starting to make a difference in her scoring. For the season, she is now averaging under two putts per hole.”

There was no let down from that big triumph for the Breakers on Monday, the day of their next league match. They went out and took care of business against Westminster and came away with a 254-353 victory at the San Clemente course (par 37). Komoroczy medaled again, this time with a 39 score.

On Wednesday, Laguna got an easy league win when Costa Mesa had to forfeit the match.

What Quigley thought to be a rebuilding year in 2008 suddenly has blossomed into a 7-3 start and a perfect 6-0 record out of the gate in league play. Gone were five players from last year’s championship team and Shaw was just one of two returning players back for another go-round.

“I really was looking at this year as a rebuilding year,” Quigley said. “I brought up some JV players who I thought could fill the vacant spots. I really didn’t know how it would all play out, but it’s playing out nicely so far.”

Komoroczy, a junior transfer from Torrey Pines High, and Shaw, a senior, have been Laguna’s top two scorers throughout the season, but contributions from Kinder, junior Jenni Coury, freshman Taylor Weiss and senior Austen Grossman have put the Breakers in position to win another league title.

They have four more league matches to go and take that next step toward repeating as champs when they take on Orange on Tuesday at Riverview Golf Course in Santa Ana.

Also looming ahead is a rematch with Estancia on the Eagles’ home course, Mesa Linda Golf Course later this month.

Quigley said that a tough nonleague schedule — one that had the Breakers going up against strong teams like Santa Margarita, St. Margaret’s and Aliso Niguel — prepped the Breakers for league play.

“We played some really tough teams and it benefited the girls,” she said. “We picked up a big win over a good Estancia team and I hope the girls can keep riding that momentum these final few weeks of league.”

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (949) 494-4321 or by e-mail at [email protected].