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Girls' golf team on the rebound

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By JARRETT GUTHRIE

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 21, 2009

PLANT CITY - The Plant City High golf team is quietly rebuilding success out at Walden Lake as a surging team of young players is hoping to lead the girls program back into the ranks of the state's top teams.

The Raiders have put together a solid 8-3 season so far and are looking for a deep run in the playoffs, which begin this week.

The team, led by sophomores Belinda George and Kelsey Jensen, is very young, but hoping to build on the momentum of last year's team that advanced to the region tournament. However, the team's youth doesn't seem to faze its young leaders.

"It doesn't take age to be mature," George said. "This game is the same as anything else I hope to push this team as far as they push me."

Junior Carli Copeland, sophomore Shelby Johnson and freshmen Savannah Lawson round out the team's top five players with depth for the future, which is something head coach Meg Cimino hopes will keep the team progressing.

"It's amazing that these girls have been able to pick up such a difficult sport so quickly," Cimino said. "I hope that has something to do with me."

Success for the Raiders golf team is something Cimino knows a lot about. As a golfer in the early '80s at Plant City, Cimino was the last player to take the Raiders to the state tournament. After playing her college golf at Auburn, she is hoping this team can return Plant City to the state tournament.

"This is a great group," Cimino said. "No one has gone to states since I did back in the early '80s and last year we qualified for the region tournament for the first time in more than 20 years."

"Now their goal is to get to states."
Cimino said the main change in Plant City golf over the past two years has been trying to foster a love of golf with the local youth programs in the area, especially at the Raiders home course at Walden Lake. In addition, the current players' dedication to off-season work has improved.

"Golf is something you knew to play all year round - everyday really if you want to get better," Cimino said. "These girls are dedicated to that."

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