Mind if we play through?

Mind if the Papermakers play through? Battered by wind and rain while standing in water and mud, the Camas girls golfers aren't showing any signs of rust. They just keep winning championships. Partners Hailey Oster and Lauryn Tsukimura, Emma Cox and Abigail Jiang, and Wenny Cai and Avery Salvato beat their opponents from Union in the alternate shot championship matches during the Titan Cup Monday, on the Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield. Oster hit the 15th green, a par-3, from the tee and Tsukimura sank a 30-foot putt for a birdie to secure a 5 & 3 victory for the two Papermakers. "It was funny," Tsukimura said. "The whole time, we were arguing over which way the putt was going to break, but we got it right." Cai and Salvato wrapped up a 3 & 1 victory for Camas on the 17th hole. Salvato made the winning putt, just like she did in the semifinals against Prairie. Cox and Jiang needed all nine holes to defeat their opponents from Union, 2 up, and complete the Papermaker sweep. The alternate shot format gave the girls an opportunity to work together on managing the course, selecting the right club and making the best approach on each swing. "I'm usually not a big fan of match play, but I actually enjoyed it this time," Oster said. "I liked having the same partner I did in the jamboree. We know how to play well together." On April 13, the Papermakers clinched first place in the Chieftain Invitational tournament at Tri-Mountain. Cox beat all the golfers from 15 Southwest Washington high schools with an 18-hole score of 78 strokes. She won the long drive challenge on the ninth hole, and then birdied the 18th hole. "I just had that feeling inside when you look at a putt and you say, 'Oh yeah, this is going in,'" Cox said. "I hit it at the right speed, at the right line, and just made my putt." Oster followed Cox in second place with an 81. She birdied the fifth hole and made nine pars. "The wind affected me most of all, especially on the back nine," Oster said. "It was very difficult to get it on in regulation and get the right distances. "It wasn't my day, but it's OK," she added. "It's all about preparation for bigger rounds in the future." Wind and rain has made golf an adventure this spring. Cox and the Papermakers are keeping steady. "I don't change anything, really," Cox said about playing in the inclement weather. "Maybe add a couple clubs in the wind. Keep my head straight and just focus on each shot." Oster, Salvato and Tuskimura bounced back at Tri-Mountain Monday. "It's like my instructor said," Tuskimura explained. "Just get back up on that same horse that knocked you off."

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