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The Gunn girls' golf team, in only its first year of existence, clinched the Blossom Valley Athletic League (Santa Teresa Division) regular-season title on Monday in a very special way.

Gunn sophomore Anna Zhou recorded a rare double-eagle when she aced the 279-yard, par-4 seventh hole at Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club while leading the Titans to an easy 202-412 victory over host Wilcox.

A double-eagle, known as an "albatross", is extremely rare -- even in professional golf. According to Gunn coach Chris Redfield, only about 2-3 are recorded each year on the PGA and LPGA tours. Nationally, about 40,000 hole-in-ones are recorded each year, while there are only a few hundred double-eagles.

Making the shot all the more difficult on the seventh hole at Santa Clara is the fact the tee shot to the hole is blind -- the green isn't visable. Golfers also have to negotiate a large bunker less than 100 yards from the green that forces tee shots either over it or to the side.

Zhou ripped a drive, which bounced up to the green and rolled into the hole while another golfer (who she couldn't see from the tee) was putting.

Zhou finished with a 2-under 34 and helped Gunn clinch the league title with a 9-0 mark (12-1 overall) with one match remaining on Wednesday. Junior Jayshree Sarathy added an even-par 36 while Tiffany Yang shot 40, Lianna McFarlane had a 44 and Sandra Herchen shot 48.

Gunn will compete in the BVAL tournament on Oct. 24 as a warmup for the Central Coast Section tourney on Oct. 30.

It was an unusual day for Castilleja, as well, as the Gators remained unbeaten in the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) with a 219-252 win over visiting Harker.

The match was scheduled for Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club, but the players were shooed off the first tee by a groundskeeper who had just sprayed chemicals on the first fairway.

Castilleja first-year coach Chris Roffi quickly contacted Palo Alto Municipal, which agreed to host the match at the last minute.

The Gators (8-0, 9-0) showed some unusual nervousness by losing a combined five balls during the nine-hole match.

"The girls usually never lose golf balls," said Roffi. "Everyone rallied back to fight on though."

Castilleja senior Taylor Wilkerson got her team's only birdie as she reached the par-5 ninth hole in two and had an eagle putt, which missed. She finished with a 1-over-par 38 while playing in the same foursome as her sister, freshman Paris, who shot 47.

Caroline Debs shot 42, Chloe Sales finished with a 43 and Dani Mitchell carded a 49 for the Gators.

Elsewhere in the WBAL, Menlo School snapped a two-match losing streak with a 238-285 win over Notre Dame-San Jose at Palo Alto Muni. Jessie Rong earned medalist honors for the Knights (4-4) with a 2-over 39 and Caroline Broderick added a 43.

Girls' tennis
Menlo School moved closer to winning its 19th straight league title following a 7-0 blanking of visiting Notre Dame-San Jose in West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) action on Monday. The Knights (7-0, 12-7) improved to 195-0 in league dual matches since 1994 while coach Bill Shine earned his 385th career win (in 17 years) with Menlo.

Sophomore Liz Yao, senior Giannina Ong and junior Laura Gradiska all won their singles matches 6-0, 6-0. The Knights fell short of perfection in singles when junior Christine Eliazo won, 6-0, 6-2.

In another WBAL match, host Sacred Heart Prep (3-3, 9-8) posted a 7-0 win over Pinewood in a match rescheduled from Oct. 2. Caroline Nordman led the way at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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