The members of the Mercer Island boys golf team were playing for pride when they took on the first-place Liberty Patriots Thursday, Oct. 1 at Twin Rivers Golf Course.
The Islanders had hoped to contend for a league title at the beginning of the season, but saw those hopes vanish after dropping two of their first three league matches. Though first place appeared out of reach, the Islanders were still after the upset.
The end of Thursday’s match saw the two teams deadlocked 187-187. A playoff round of golf later, and the Islanders looked like the contenders they expected to be this year.
Mercer Island outlasted the Patriots 23-26 to win the playoff and take the match for their second league win. The team boasted three of the day’s five lowest scorecards, led by Islander senior Zach Evens, who shot a 34 and birdied on the playoff hole. Braden Williams shot a 37, and Bligh Bjarnason finished with 38 strokes.
“That was a huge mental boost for our guys, to know that they can compete with the best,” Mercer Island coach Tyson Peters said.
A few weeks ago, the Islanders may have expected the Liberty match to serve as an indication of who would win KingCo. But losses to Juanita and Lake Washington to open the season likely cost Mercer Island their shot.
As unfortunate as the losses may have been, they were not necessarily due to poor performance. As a team, Mercer Island set a season goal of keeping their collective score under 200 each match to be successful. They managed to do so throughout their first four matches, but also saw their opponents rise to the occasion with stellar outings.
“We were stunned; [the two losses] were both very close matches,” Peters said. “What we ran into was that those two teams both played their best match of the year on that particular day.”
Peters said the Islanders have had to revisit their goals, focusing more on individual improvement and setting their sights on the postseason. Evens, a returning state qualifier, and senior Drew Christofferson have been bright spots. Evens has either come away with or tied for the lowest individual score of every league match, and Christofferson has consistently turned in some of the team’s lowest individual numbers.
With only two meets left on the regular season schedule, the Mercer Island coach is encouraging his players to finish strong and hopefully peak as they go into the postseason.
“The nice thing about golf is that there are constant numbers you’re trying to get,” he said. “We want to show that maybe we weren’t as consistent as we needed to be in the regular season, but when it counts, we can be.”
Mercer Island takes on Interlake at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5 at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. The team finishes its regular season against Sammamish at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 at Twin Rivers.
