In only three years, the Ballard Beaver girls golf team has continued to close the gap between themselves and their more seasoned eastside rivals.

Inglemoor, narrowly beat Ballard last month 273 to 281 strokes in the Beavers first match of the year. Like many eastside teams, players often have family memberships to private golf clubs.

Ballard's Emily Shiels' second place finish with 51 strokes and team Captain Sami Wong's fifth place showing with 53 points helped keep the team score close.

On April 4 at the Wayne Golf Course, Woodinville edged the Beavers 263 to 267. This time Shiels was the top golfer with 42 strokes. Her teammate Ellie Shane was third at 51.

Over at Jefferson Park on April 17, against an inexperienced Franklin team, the Beavers beat the Quakers 269-327.

Ballard's number two player KristenYeasting was the medalist with a 46 score. "It was the best round she has ever had," said Head Coach Stan Geddes.

Emily Shiels was second with a score of 48. "We have not had two golfers under 50. It was the best round she has had," said Geddes. Shane was third in the Franklin match with a score of 53.

The Beavers have improved under Geddes, now in his third year as coach. Blowouts have become a thing of the past. This trend began last spring as Ballard lost by fewer and fewer strokes.

Geddes, took the coaching job at Ballard because his daughter Kim was on the team. She has now graduated, along with Gina Belcher.

Shiels has stepped up her game for Ballard. "She had good scores," Geddes said, referring to Shiels' recent performances.

Ballard had a chance to beat Woodinville, but fell short. They were playing without Yeasting, their number two player. Yeasting was on a school field trip to Peru.

Wong is playing her best golf for Ballard. "Comparing her scores to last year, she has a five to six stroke improvement," said Geddes.

Geddes says his team has gotten so much better. "We had a good chance to win at Woodinville. Woodinville is tough and is generally in the top echelon," he said.

The Seattle School District's new end of the daytime of 2:50 p.m. has also been a challenge. Last week, the team had to leave classes early to get to their match at Beacon's Hill's Jefferson Park Golf Course for a 3 p.m. tee time.

"We are a competitive golf team right now. Our goal is to win matches, we came close to it. They are working hard at Interbay (Golf Course) every Monday and Wednesday. They are doing a good job of practicing," said Geddes.

Geddes has set a goal for his team to win a certain number of matches. He would not disclose the number of wins he is seeking, but last year the team beat Garfield, Franklin, Lake Washington and Juanita.

Dean Wong can be reached at 206-783-1244 or via email deanw@robinsonnews.com