THE SENIORS were honored before their victory over Saugus on Oct. 10 at King Rail Golf Course. Pictured from left to right is Dylan Wickwire, Tylor Roycroft and Liam McNeill. (Courtesy Photo)
By MARC GAGNE
LYNNFIELD — The Wakefield varsity golf team trounced Saugus in its senior day contest last Tuesday.
Playing at King Rail, a par-34 course in Lynnfield, each and every Warrior won his matchup to contribute to Wakefield’s point total of 56.5, as compared to Saugus’ point total of 15.5.
In high school golf matches, each team selects its top eight players to compete against the top eight from the other team. The golfers get paired up one-on-one with an opponent, based on their rank on their team so that the first Wakefield golfer competes against the first Saugus golfer, and so on. The players travel the course in groups of four, with two matchups being played in each group.
Freshman Patrick Maloney and junior Daegan Pothier were first to tee off for Wakefield. Maloney beat his opponent 5.5-3.5 and Pothier came out with a 6.5-2.5 win.
Next up were captains, senior Tylor Roycroft and junior Luke Greif, who each earned 8 points to their opponents’ 1 point.
Greif offered his thoughts about the match.
“This was a good overall team win at a course we’re very experienced at. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we are a team with lots of young talent. With lots of practice we can be a strong team next year.”
Sophomore Alex Tracy won his matchup 7-2 and senior captain Liam McNeil beat his Saugus opponent 7.5-1.5.
Finally, senior Dylan Wickwire won 6-3 and junior Henry Brown finished his match winning eight holes.
Roycroft shot the best score of the day for Wakefield with an even par of 34 strokes.
According to Coach Chris Keane, “Some of the best highlights from the season are seeing how much improvement players have made since last season. Alex Tracy and Luke Greif are two guys who made huge leaps. It’s always great to see the team play well because the kids really do work incredibly hard.”
Wakefield celebrated their three seniors, Wickwire, Roycroft and McNeil throughout the day.
“Tylor, Liam and Dylan were great leaders this season and I couldn’t think more highly of them as individuals,” said Keane. “They’ll all succeed no matter what field they go into.
“I think this win was a good snap shot of the improvement that the team has made this season. We only graduate three seniors, but the young guys are showing their potential for the next couple of years.”
To close out their season, the Warriors fell to Watertown 36.5-35.5 at Oakley Country Club yesterday, bringing their final overall record to 3-11.
With regard to next year, Keane said, “I hope we’ve gained some competitive experience. We have some guys who can play well but are just too inconsistent to compete day in and out in the strong Middlesex League. If players put in the work in tournament play over the summer, I think we’ll have a strong team next year.”