Petaluma's Sarah Jane Catarozoli named All-Empire girls golfer of year

Petaluma’s Sarah Jane Catarozoli has a passion for golf, as evident by her outstanding senior season that has culminating in being named the All-Empire girls golfer of the year.

Her passion made her recent decision not to pursue competitive golf at the collegiate level that much more difficult.

“I have always wanted to play golf in college ever since I was little,” Catarozoli said. “I went back and forth and I wasn’t sure about giving up golf … but I wasn’t ready to give up other interests.”

Catarozoli said she knew playing in college would require intense dedication and would squeeze her time and energy away from academics and other endeavors. In the end, academics took precedence over golf.

In addition to her studies, Catarozoli said she plans to continue with her volunteering and community service. Catarozoli has a cumulative high school GPA of 4.53, placing her in the top 10 of her graduating class.

She has applications pending at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and the University of Pennsylvania, and intends on majoring in biology or political science. Catarozoli said her career ambition is to become either an anesthesiologist or environmental justice attorney.

Catarozoli’s numbers were impressive this season. While leading the Trojans to a fourth-place finish in the Sonoma County League, she had a 42.6 nine-hole average and won the league tournament with an 18-hole score of 86.

Furthermore, Catarozoli was the only golfer out of eight from the Redwood Empire in the NCS Division 2 championship to advance to the next level.

Catarozoli shot an 84 on 18 holes to put her in 12th place, good enough to earn her the final qualifying spot in the Division 1 championship that followed.

In the Division 1 championship, Catarozoli did not golf well enough to qualify for the Tournament of Champions Northern California tournament, but she had the best score (87) of the six Redwood Empire golfers at the event.

“In past years I have really struggled at NCS. This year I had two good rounds at the NCS,” Catarozoli said. “It was nice to have a final NCS round that really reflected how I was playing.”

After her final hole at the Division 1 championship, Catarozoli knew it was her final shot as a high school golfer and likely the end of her competitive golf career.

While it was her decision not to try out for college golf, she said the moment was still bittersweet.

“I looked at (Petaluma) coach (Chris) Jones and I said, ‘This is it. It’s over,” Catarozoli said. “It was a weird feeling. It was hard to process.”

Catarozoli said she had a great relationship with Jones and that he was the best coach she ever had. The feeling was mutual for Jones.

“Sarah Jane was absolutely a big influence to all the girls on her team. She always brought out the best in players from around the SCL,” Jones said. “She has an incredible work ethic. Her biggest strength is her consistency. She knew what it took to get the result she needed.”

Jones said Catarozoli was a disciplined golfer and had a serious demeanor on the course. He said it took her some time to develop and take chances to improve her game.

Catarozoli agreed and said she went through a down period early in her high school career (summer 2015) and almost gave up the game.

“I was really hard on myself. I couldn’t move on after a bad shot. It was my sophomore year that I really lost a lot of confidence,” said Catarozoli, who credited her turnaround partly to a book that Jones bought for her about golf not being a game for perfectionists. “After I gained more confidence my junior year, I played looser and took more risks and my scores reflected that.”

Catarozoli has a sophomore sister, Lilly, who is also on Trojans golf squad and was named to the All-Empire first team.

Catarozoli credits Lilly for showing her how to have a little more fun while playing golf.

“My sister and I got really close this year,” Catarozoli said. “I was able to talk to her and she helped me play looser.”

Catarozoli and Jones both agreed that her drives and mid-range irons were the best part of her game, while her putting was the area that caused her the most trouble.

“Sarah Jane has got excellent power. Her natural approach to the game, the way she swings the club is rare,” Jones said. “Putting was the one thing in her entire game that held her from getting over the hump and bringing her average into the 30s.”

Coach Jane Wann, who guided Healdsburg to the SCL championship this year, had effusive praise for Catarozoli.

“Sarah Jane was very consistent over the four years (at Petaluma). My girls always looked forward to playing with her,” Wann said. “She plays with such ease and integrity. She is just a role model as a student, athlete and person.”

As Catarozoli moves forward, competitive golf will soon be in her rear-view mirror. She said it when she does play, it will be for recreation. She stressed that she will take the lessons learned from the game and apply them to life.

“I’m really going to miss golf. It will be hard not playing but it’s not something I will leave behind completely,” Catarozoli said. “Golf taught me how to dedicate myself to reach a goal.”