Gianna Cerne tried a lot of sports growing up.
By the time she was 10, she found the one she really loves.
“I started when I was 10, mostly because I was bad at other sports,” the St. Hubert High School junior said with a laugh. “But when I started playing golf, I really enjoyed it and became passionate about it.
“I started playing at FDR through a program called the First Tee. Some of my friends did it, too. We all liked it. It was a lot of fun, so I stuck with it.”
Cerne isn’t just a golfer.
Now, she’s a certified champion!
Cerne helped the Bambies win the Catholic League girls golf championship.
Cerne shot a 120, which was good enough to place third, and her teammates Olivia Steinmetz (123) and Maya Bottiglieri (129) also posted low scores, leading the Bambies to the first golf championship in school history. They bested Little Flower, which had won the past two Catholic League championships, securing titles in 2019 and 2021. There was no championship in 2020 due to the pandemic.
This year’s championship was held at Jeffersonville Golf Club in Norristown.
“Winning the PCL was so great, I wasn’t sure we could do it because it was us and Little Flower, they’re our biggest rivals and they’re really good,” said Cerne, who lives in Pennypack. “They took second. It was like living on the edge of our seats. We went crazy when we found out we won. We were so happy.
“We won the championship and the regular season championship. They both mean so much. I think the PCL championship during the season means a lot because you have to do well as a team all year, not just as an individual. But they both mean so much. Finishing third was great, but winning as a team means way more to me. It’s fun to win as a team, especially fun when you win with this team.”
Cerne and her team still have the District 12 tournament this week. Anyone who qualifies for the state tournament will go on to compete for a state championship. A state championship might be too ambitious, but the Bambies will once again have an opportunity to bring home a championship at districts.
Either way, it’s a chance for Cerne and her teammates to play more golf together and continue to improve.
“We have a lot of good seniors who are graduating, so I’m really happy we won this year,” Cerne said. “They were really good leaders, they kept us motivated a lot.
“I like golf because we’re all good friends. It’s fun. You get to go to a lot of different courses all over, play them and have fun. Some of the courses are really nice. Our course, we play at Byrne Golf Club, is really nice. It’s just fun to go out and play.”
Cerne is happy golf season isn’t over, but once it is, she goes right to her next sport. In the winter, she’s a member of the Bambies bowling team, another sport she’s proud to be part of.
“When I saw our school has a bowling team, I thought it was really cool, so I signed up,” Cerne said. “We really hope we can win this year. We have a good team and we’re working really hard so hopefully we can win this year.”
Cerne also stays busy away from sports.
She’s a member of the school’s robotics team, and she also does very well in the classroom where she’s ranked third in her junior class.
“It comes pretty naturally for me, but I have to study a good amount to keep my grades up,” Cerne said. “My favorite subject is math. I really like math. Hopefully, I can play golf in college. If I can, maybe get a scholarship. Hopefully, I get one for either golf or academics.”
She also has another year to perfect that golf game before heading off to college. And you can bet she’ll have a lot of fun playing next year, just as she did this year.
“My favorite part of the year was playing Little Flower,” Cerne said. “We always play them at the end and everything leads up to that moment. But it’s fun playing the other schools. We play with the boys schools as well, we meet a lot of new people. It’s really fun to meet new people while you’re playing.
“I love everything about this team. The team, the spirit and the sisterhood. We’re all really close and encouraging to each other. We go to the matches sometimes on the Bambi Bus, everyone is happy and hyped and encouraging and stuff. It’s a van, but we call it the Bambi Bus. We just have fun.
“I’m really proud of what we did. We all worked for it. We all worked really hard and won as a team.”
