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Courtesy photo

Samantha Moyal recently signed her letter of intent to play for Rutgers University golf team as a freshman next year.

Courtesy photo

Moyal's teammate Carly Childs will play golf as a freshman at UC Berkeley.

Two members of the Alameda High School (AHS) girls' golf team will compete at the Division 1 college level next fall, after signing letters of intent to their prospective universities.

After months of wooing from college coaches, senior Samantha Moyal has chosen to attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. and senior Carly Childs decided to attend the University of California at Berkeley.

Childs has been around golf most of her life as her father and older sister are avid players.

"I started golf at the age of 10," said Childs. "My dad started me in it and he was my swing coach."

Childs loved the sport as a child. "I love the competitiveness of golf and I really like being outdoors," she said.

Moyal did not start golf until the eighth grade, much later than most young golfers. Moyal also quickly fell in love with the sport. "It's such a mental sport," said Moyal, who swam and practiced taekwondo before taking up golf. "I never get bored playing golf."

Moyal's father Raphy Moyal entered her in the Junior Golf Program at the Chuck Corica Golf Complex and she did well. It was there Moyal met AHS girls' golf coach Stephen Burnett and the team.

"He was there with the team and he just told me I could be like those girls," said Moyal, who decided to join the team.

Burnett knew instantly the girls were destined to play at the next level.

"Usually, a girl can get a scholarship if she can shoot in the mid- 80s," said Burnett. "Those girls were shooting in the mid-80s as freshmen."

The two girls have impressed Burnett so much since their freshman year.

"Sam is unbelievable," said Burnett who has coached the team since the program started six years ago. "She isn't just a great player, she's a true leader. And Carly's gone on a progression you don't usually see from high school kids."

The two golfers approached the recruiting process differently. Carly decided decided to stay close to home.

"I always loved Cal," said Childs. "I love the academics and the coaches. Everything at Cal was positive."

Childs used her older sister Emily, now a senior on the Cal golf team, as guidance for her recruitment, but utimately chose UC Berkeley because she said it is the right fit for her. And her parents liked her desicion.

"Being a student-athlete is so difficult and to be able to come home for home-cooked meals or just to be around family is helpful," said Sandra Childs, Carly's mother. "We're a close-knit family."

Moyal, on the other hand, will be 3,000 miles away from her family at Rutgers.

"With Rutgers, I can say I love everything about the school." said Moyal.

Moyal's parents are a little uneasy about their daughter going to school so far away from home.

"It's kind of hard to think she'll be all the way on the East Coast," said Raphy Moyal. "But it's a part of growing up. I think she chose the right school."

Both girls credit their parents for their success on the course.

"I appreciate my dad for taking me to practices and teaching me the game," said Moyal. "My mom supported me so much mentally. Sometimes I would get down on myself, but she would tell me to use my anger to motivate me."

"My parents have been my main supporters," said Childs. "They would go to my tournaments and would get so excited every time I got a recruiting letter."

And their parents could not be prouder of them.

"Any parent would be proud," said Sandra Childs. "It's wonderful. We're really proud."

"I'm extremely proud," said Raphy. "I can't say enough about her."