Ceres High School's tradition-rich varsity girls golf team beat crosstown-rival Central Valley by a combined 74 strokes during their two Western Athletic Conference dual meetings last season.

The new-look Bulldogs edged the Hawks 175-186 on Sept. 15 at St. Stanislaus Golf Course.

"We practice and play our home matches at the same place," Ceres High co-head coach Dave Fry said. "We're city rivals. But at the end of the day, there's no animosity. The coaches have a lot to do with that. Their coach (Kelly Wheelock) is constantly working to make that program better."

Ceres High improved to 3-2 in the WAC standings.

Central Valley dropped to 1-2 in conference play.

The Bulldogs graduated three key players from last year's WAC-championship squad, including Caitlin Pfaff, Erica Hogner and Brittany Turnbow.

"We're young," Fry said. "Three of our golfers are newbies. The nucleus has got to carry us. The play as of late has improved. But we still have a lot of work to do."

Savanah Beltran led the Bulldogs with a 10-over-par 38.

Abigail Nou, Hannah Smith and Monika Ramirez posted scores of 40, 41 and 46, respectively.

"She (Beltran) played the round of her career," Fry said. "She's been working very hard on her chipping and putting. It paid off. Without a quality round from Savanah, we win by just two or three strokes."

Janita Vongphoumy, 2014 WAC MVP, led the Hawks with a 4-over-par 32.

"Nobody is going to beat Janita," Fry said. "She's constantly working to be better."

Central Valley teammates Else Smith, Paulina Diaz and Lisa Serna shot 42, 55 and 57, respectively.

"We finished strong," Fry said. "I was surprised it was that close. Everybody was amped up. My concern was making sure our anticipation and excitement didn't overtake the job at hand."