Boys’ golf lead successful season despite loss to Wachusett in Pod 8 finals
Freshman Luke Palma follows through on his shot off the tee. After a hard fought game, Algonquin lost against Wachusett 168-160.
December 3, 2020
Despite the impact of COVID-19, the boys’ varsity golf team still had a successful season, ending with a record of 5-5 and making it to the finals for pod 8.
The 16 player team, coached by Michael Groccia, was able to compete in eight regular season matches and two playoff matches, which is shorter than their usual 16 regular season matches. The amount of players competing for each team in the matches was also reduced from eight to six, and the top scores to count for each match decreased from five to four.
Due to the restrictions, the team had very little time to prepare for the season.
“There was no opportunity for captains practices before tryouts began and after tryouts we had one day of practice before we actually got into our match schedule,” Groccia said.
In addition to a shorter season, the team had to work around many health and safety guidelines such as mask wearing and avoiding common touch surfaces.
“They weren’t allowed to touch rakes in any bunkers,” Groccia said. “They weren’t allowed to remove pins from any cups, so that’s a little bit different. Bunkers are more just etiquette, where they would rake where they were, but if they happen to get in there they could pick up the ball and move it to a different place in the bunker that had been not distrubed to give them a fair lie.”
Even though some aspects of the game changed, they were still able to have great competition and exciting matches. Their most memorable win came against a big rival, Westborough. The competition was intense, but they were able to come away with a win, thanks to freshman Eddie Wen. This win created momentum for the rest of the season.
“Our number six [player], Eddie Wen, the freshman, birdied nine and ended up shooting a 36 and he turned a three point loss into a three point win,” Groccia said. “It was our best overall team performance and it came against Westborough, who was a rival, and they had put up a fantastic number that day as well so it was a very exciting match.”
One of the captains, senior James Stamoulis, said the team was so excited after that match, both for Wen’s success and for the overall success of the team.
“[Wen] came in and just blew them out of the water and we took the win by a few strokes because of him,” Stamoulis said. “I think it was an awesome moment for him and definitely for the team.”
The boys’ varsity golf team beat Shrewsbury in the first round of playoffs, but ended their season in a loss against Wachusett 168-160.
“We played a tough team at the end, Wachusett, who was undefeated,” Stamoulis said. “We went into it with thoughts that we could win because anything is possible but when it comes down to it, it was their home course and they’re a great team.”
Next season, Groccia hopes that their schedule can return to normal, but he believes health implications and new protocols will still be present.
“Hopefully [next season] we can just have a full season,” Groccia said. “[Hopefully we can] give all student athletes the opportunity to compete a full season, give them the opportunity to connect out of school and compete and have fun and just to continue to improve as a team and represent Algonquin well.”
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