Zoe Bertz was at Mountain Falls for the Pahrump Invitational. She was not a spectator, but a player.
Normally girls play in the fall, but since George Whittell does not have a girls team, she plays for the boys. Tonopah had a similar situation where they had a girl named Samantha Ryals play for the boys last year.
At Bertz’s school she has the best of both worlds. She loves volleyball and doesn’t have to give it up for golf.
Bertz lived in Pahrump and attended Pahrump Valley High School for two years and is a former Trojans varsity volleyball player, who played on the team as an outside hitter when Megan Hamrick was around. Bertz was known for her strong hits.
The senior golfer also played junior golf in Pahrump and was known for taking golf tournaments down here.
She moved after her sophomore year to the smaller school (208 students) Whittell High School in the Lake Tahoe area.
Trojans Coach Jill Harris missed her and even mentioned the fact that Bertz had chosen volleyball over golf when she was here.
Bertz said she missed Pahrump and she admits she does have the best deal up in Tahoe.
Whittell Warriors Coach Steve Maltase said she is a great asset to the team.
“She is doing fantastic and she has been shooting in the 80s all year from the men’s tees in all of our tournaments. She is in the top ten. This is her second year. she plays volleyball, basketball and golf. She probably would have won the state championship in the Division III women’s golf this year by as much as 20 strokes,” Maltase explained.
At the Pahrump Invitational, Bertz carded a 91 the first day and a 95 the second day and was the 9th golfer in her flight. She also bested all the PVHS golfers in her flight.
“It’s really nice to be back and it’s a great course and in good condition. It’s a lot different than the northern courses. I could have done a lot better,” Bertz said.
Her coach was happy with her card.
“It’s good for her to play with the boys because she wants to play college golf and playing with boys is good preparation for her,” Maltase said.