Improved Carson golfers finish fourth

Is this the same Carson High girls golf team that started the season?

The Senators, who opened with ninth- and 11th-place finishes in their first two Northern 4A matches, jumped all the way to fourth with a season-best team total of 496 in a match held Tuesday at Ruby View Golf Course in Elko.

Liz Rankl shot 92 to finish in a tie for eighth on the individual leaderboard to lead Carson. Gabby Gallegos also shot 94, Kelsey Green 100, Samantha Wang 105 and Grace Ray 105 to round out the team scoring as the Senators dipped below 500 for the first time this season. By comparison, they shot 545 to start the season at Sierra Sage and shot 532 just last week on their home Eagle Valley Golf Course.

"It is exciting to see them improve like this," Carson coach Terry Gingell said. "The whole team played well. They made a lot of progress today, and Ruby View is not an easy course to play. The greens were quite fast and undulating and there was a strong wind blowing today."

Improvement was evident throughout Carson's lineup. Green's score was her best score by six shots. Wang and Ray improved by 10 and 13 shots respectively from their performances at Eagle Valley last week. The team's No. 6 player, Christy Borges, carded a 135 to improve her previous best by five shots.

At the same time, the Senators enhanced their chances to crack the top eight for the regular season and qualify for the Northern 4A Regional Tournament next month. Two matches remain on the regular season schedule -- Sept. 25 at Arrowcreek and Sept. 29 at Washoe.