The Fountain Hills High School golf team had its first match of the season last Tuesday, March 1. The Falcons took third place out of four teams, and senior Alex Schafer tied for first in individual play.

Schafer scored 41 at Desert Canyon Golf Course, and his brother Ethan scored 44, good enough for the sophomore to tie for seventh place. Senior Brendan Muhs came in 14th place with a score of 51, and sophomore Thomas Tiebert scored 55 and finished 16th.

Freshman Savannah Miller scored 64 and finished 18th out of 20 participants in her first high school match.

“Alex started off strong and played a great match leading the team,” head coach Bob Buczek said. “But we need to give Savannah, our freshman, a shoutout and congratulations for her first match and coming in 18th! It can be very nerve-racking to get up on that first tee box to hit your first tee shot on one of the hardest holes on the course, averaging 6.8 for the match, and Savannah scored a 5.”

Payson won the match with a team score of 174. Rancho Solano Prep came in second with 185, the Falcons scored 191, and Glendale Prep finished last with a score of 199.

The Falcons are now ranked 13th out of 25 teams for Division III, and their next match will be at 3:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 9, at the Orange Tree Golf Club in Scottsdale. The Falcons play again next Monday, March 14, at Eagle Mountain Golf Course at 3:30 p.m.

The season is only beginning for the Falcons, but they lost several seniors last year. To make the state tournament again this season, the young Falcons will need to improve their day-to-day performance.

“I’d say consistency,” Tiebert said. “Playing different courses, and they’re all different, and you have off days. Yesterday in practice, I played terrible, but I was hitting it goof off the range today. It’s just different day to day and you have to keep yourself consistent.”