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They’re not too far behind, either. The Cardinals won the FCIAC championship in boys golf last year, while the Greenwich girls finished fourth in the FCIAC and third in the state for the second year in a row. “Each year we get better and better,” said Marie Shimchick, who’s coached the Lady Cards every season since they brought girls golf back in 2005. “We’ve finished third in the state the last two years, and that shows our level of play in the FCIAC and statewide is getting stronger. The FCIAC is the strongest league in the state. The state tournament was dominated by FCIAC teams.” Indeed, four of the top five teams and seven of the top 11 were from the FCIAC, and Greenwich finished only four strokes behind runner-up Simsbury and 10 in back of state champion Staples. The Cardinals finished 6-3 in the FCIAC and 12-3 overall, but graduated their senior captain, Leah Colombo, a first-team All-FCIAC selection now playing at Fairfield University. Lauren Lockwood, an Honorable Mention All-FCIAC, also graduated. “So those are two major losses,” Shimchick said. “But the good news is we have two seniors coming back and both are captains, Paige Levy and Jordan Donohue.” The third tri-captain is junior Vallerie Leone, who received the team’s “Most Improved” award last year. Meanwhile, sophomore Leigh Wellington, a second-team All-FCIAC choice as a freshman, is also back and vying for the No. 1 spot in the lineup after playing in several junior tournaments during the summer. “To do what she did as a freshman was significant, so we’ll be relying on her,” Shimchick said. “She’ll be our rock.” Sophomore Esther Ha, who also played varsity last year, will be another key player in the lineup. “All our returnees will be contributing,” Shimchick said. “We had a well-balanced team last year and that’s what I’m hoping will happen again this year.” Besides the returnees, sophomore transfer Sofia Urra has “looked good and could see varsity action,” according to Shimchick. “We also have some really solid JV players who could move up,” she added. Shimchick also credited her assistant coach, Lillian Perone, and professional Joe Felder at The Griff for her team’s steady progress and success. “Joe’s been very supportive and has worked with a lot of our girls since they were little,” she pointed out. “Some of them are members and he’s seen them grow up.” With teams like Ridgefield, New Canaan and defending champ Staples all strong again, the Cardinals might not be ready to challenge for an FCIAC title yet. But they’re certainly getting closer. “Each year our record has gotten better, and the progress we’ve made in the last three or four years is amazing,” Shimchick said. “But we still want to improve. “Certainly one of our goals is to make the FCIAC tournament, which won’t be easy. There are nine teams in the FCIAC and only four make the tournament. I don’t think there will be a weak team this season. But we’re looking forward to another successful season.” So are the Greenwich boys, who tied for fourth in the Division I state tournament last season. “I thought we had a good chance to win that, too,” said head coach Jeff Santilli. “But when the states were canceled because of rain and we had to wait another week, that really hurt us. We couldn’t roll over the momentum we had from winning the FCIACs.” But Santilli, who guided GHS to a state title in 2004 as well as back-to-back FCIAC championships in 2001 and ’02, feels the Cardinals have the talent to make another run at both crowns in 2008. “Obviously our two major goals are to be FCIAC champs and return where we are at the state tournament and try to be state champs,” Santilli, beginning his ninth season as head coach, said. “I think we have a good chance with this team, too.” Santilli has reason to be optimistic, with the return of senior co-captain Brian Czarnecki, who should be one of the top golfers in the FCIAC. “He was right around there last year and he should be in the top five again, without a doubt,” Santilli said. “But we’re not going to win just because of Brian. We need three other guys to play well, not just him.” One such player is Sean Massi, the other senior co-captain, who also started last year. “He’s a multi-sport athlete, which helps,” Santilli pointed out. “He’s coming off a great basketball season where he was a captain as well, and I’m hoping he will do the same for me, especially being a captain.” The Cardinals were also counting on the return of Dave Pastore, who started as a freshman last year and had a solid season, even playing some at No. 1. But he moved to Florida so he could attend the David Leadbetter Golf Academey. “Obviously he’s going to be missed. He was a key contributor to a lot of our wins,” Santilli said. “But I’m happy for him. It will make him reach the next level he wants to reach.” Greenwich also lost George Tischler, last year’s captain, and Sal Sabia, who both graduated. But seniors Bobby Johnson and Aaron Fox, who both saw some varsity action a year ago, and junior Dave Morilla, a spot starter as a sophomore, are all back and ready to step up and fill in. “We have a bunch of other kids in the mix playing for a couple of other spots in the lineup,” Santilli said. “And we have some younger players trying to sneak into the lineup.” One is sophomore Jack Applebaum, who “played a varsity match or two last year,” Santilli said. The Cardinals’ coach feels he has the pieces to make a run at another title, or two. “This year will be a little more difficult. We’re going to have to grind it out more,” he said. “But we’re not a selfish team. We know what to do to be successful and we’ve been successful. These kids all care about each other and like to see each other do well, which is important to be successful. “We want to use the season to focus on improving our game, not just playing a round of golf, and hopefully they’ll improve day by day. The season is all built up for those last two events, the FCIACs and states.” The Greenwich girls team couldn’t agree more. © Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
