Another big year is ahead for the Reedley College women's golf team.
But a new league will be a challenge for veteran head coach Scott Stark's Lady Tigers. The defending Central Valley Conference champion Reedley team is now part of the Big 8 Conference, which features the top four teams in Northern California last year.
Reedley finished third in NorCal last year behind champion Sierra and second place Modesto while finishing ahead of fourth-place Fresno City.
Half of the Tigers' roster, which finished fifth in the state in 2018, is back for 2019. Topping that list is Serena DiMauro (Central, Fresno), who tied for tenth in the state last year. She is joined by fellow sophomores Serena Garcia (Dinuba) and Eliza Hernandez (Dinuba).
The freshmen on the Tiger roster include Monica Yu (San Diego), McKenzie Quinn (Clovis East), Nikki McArron (Immanuel), Kayla Hernandez (Paso Robles), Mya Chao (Golden West, Visalia) and Alyssa Bendure (Clovis North).
Stark is very high on Wu. "She is long off the tee and has good mental preparation. Both  DiMauro and Yu will be a good one-two punch at the top of the order."
Stark says that this will be the most competitive schedule we've ever played in. "We have to face Sierra and Modesto at least four times."
The Tiger head coach says that turnout is down at both Fresno City and Taft. At this writing, the Rams have only three players while Taft has five.
This week, the Tigers will get to see most of Northern California's top teams at the Modesto Pre-Season Invitational on Aug. 27 and most of Southern California's best at the Desert Classic in Palm Springs on Aug. 30.
Two home matches will be played at the Tigers' home course at the Kings River Golf and Country Club in Kingsburg. They are set for Sept. 5 and Oct. 3.

By: Will Goldbeck