By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> The Unionville boys’ golf squad came within a whisker of an undefeated regular season. The only hiccup was a single stroke setback on Tuesday at rival West Chester Rustin.
But the Longhorns captured the Ches-Mont American crown and a free pass into districts as a team by virtue of the top tiebreaker: the total in head-to-head competition. In two regular season clashes, Unionville eked out a 373-375 advantage.
A day later, the ’Horns followed it up with a 186-210 triumph over visiting West Chester Henderson on Senior Day at Kennett Square Golf & Country Club. Unionville heads into Monday’s Ches-Mont Championship at Wyncote Golf Club with a 10-1 record in the division and 15-1 overall.
“If you are undefeated, you have that hanging over you a little. So it wasn’t a bad time for a loss,” acknowledged Longhorns’ head coach Jimmy O’Rourke. “Let’s be honest: a one stroke loss to Rustin on their home course, we’ll take it. Nobody beats Rustin at Penn Oaks (Golf Club).
“It’s less stress now that we know we have already qualified for districts as a team. We have eight guys and I think all of them have a chance to make the cut individually and get into districts. That would be hard to do, but they all have the ability to do it.”
It has kind of become commonplace, but Unionville boasted six scores of 38 or better. That means that after the top five scores, the ’Horns had a luxury of throwing out a 38 and a 39 on Wednesday, which would be a dream sequence for most teams.
“Unionville has a big group, and they have a lot of seniors who play well. They are good,” said Warriors’ head coach Joel Cummings.
“You never want to lose, but there is a lot of pressure that goes into being undefeated,” added Unionville junior Michael Keller. “So we are going to take it as we learned a lot. Things are smooth if you win all the time, so it was good to see how we would respond to a loss.”
Keller led the way, carding an even-par 35. Tre Lesperance added a 37, and then four Longhorns came in with identical 38s: Jax Puskar, Charlie Barrickman, Rex Opdahl and Johan Tuerff.
Just 5-foot-7 and about 125-pounds, Keller is long off the tee (usually in the 260-265 range), but is also accurate. On Wednesday, he followed his only bogey with a birdie on the par 4 seventh, and sprinkled pars on the other seven holes.
“I hit the driver a lot better today,” he said. “I didn’t hit a lot of greens, but got up and down four times – I was rolling the putter pretty well.”
It came a day after Keller did something he rarely does: lose a golf ball.
“The last time Michael lost a ball was probably four years ago, but he did against Rustin,” O’Rourke said. “He is just fairways and greens, and if he’s not putting well, it’s even-par. If he is putting well, it’s lights out – 2- or 3-under.”
Cummings used the outing for Henderson (9-2, 9-3) as a bit of a warm up for a Thursday clash against Avon Grove at Radley Run Country Club. The winner seize the Ches-Mont National crown. It will be a rematch of the Warriors’ one-stroke win earlier this season at Inniscrone Golf Club.
“We have a big match (Thursday) against Avon Grove that will decide first place,” he said.
“The focus for us course management and good club selection. That’s what it is going to come down to.”
Senior Josh Baker led the Warriors on Wednesday with a 38, which is a little off his season average of 35.4. Fellow seniors Cole Snyder (41) and Patrick Lynn (42) also contributed.
“We had three freshmen playing here that have played, maybe, three varsity matches. And a couple seniors who haven’t played much,” Cummings said. “I just wanted to get them out to give them more experience.”
Unionville is probably the favorite on Monday, and will certainly be a factor at districts. But the ultimate goal is clear.
“The ceiling for this team is to win the state championship,” Keller said. “That is always the hope. But the job is not done. We have the Ches-Monts, then districts and, hopefully, states.”
Unionville 186, West Chester Henderson 210
Par 35 at Kennett Square G&CC
W.C. Henderson: Baker 38, Snyder 41, P. Lynn 42, Schwinn 44, Culp 45.
Unionville: Keller 35, Lesperance 37, Barrickman 38, Puskar 38, Opdahl 38.
