Hoping for a top five placement, Coppell girls golf coach Gary Beyer was beyond impressed when the Coppell girls golf team placed in the top three.
“The girls played so well on day one and then came back and turned up the heat on day two,” Coppell girls golf coach Gary Beyer said.
The Coppell girls golf team finished third at the UIL Class 6A Championship in White Wing Golf Club in Georgetown on May 6-7. On day one, Coppell was two shots out of third, two strokes away from Southlake Carroll. On day two, Coppell earned a third place spot by one stroke.
This is the second highest placement of the girls golf team at the state tournament in program history, with the 2015 team finishing second.
The star players of the tournament included sophomores Alicia Bellendir, Nethra Sheri and Riya Bapna, who helped lead the team to its high placement.
“Those three came in last year as freshmen together and they’ll go out in two years as probably three of the most successful golfers the school has ever had,” Beyer said.
Sophomore Riya Bapna describes the overall scores of the players, highlighting sophomore Isabella Nguyen.
“We got third by one stroke and it came down to like the very last putt,” Bapna said. “We were all playing well and I feel like [sophomore Isabella Nguyen] had one of her best rounds.”
This year, the Class 6A state golf tournament course changed from Georgetown’s Legacy Hills Golf Club to White Wing Golf Club. Bapna expresses that the change of course was helpful in learning to adapt to different environments.
“It will be very helpful for next year and next year,” Bapna said. “I think it’ll allow our team to have a really good shot at getting first place.”
Additionally, sophomores Alicia Bellendir and Nethra Sheri tied for ninth place, both placing in the all-state first team.
Beyer states that the mentality, collaboration, and drive of the girls largely contributed to their high placement.
“They’re hungry,” Beyer said. “They want to win. That’s the first thing they said. They think they’re the best and I can’t necessarily disagree with them.”
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