When freshman golfer Tommy Marcantonio went into the final hole on Oct. 1, he didn’t know it was going to be up to him to break the tie, guaranteeing LHS golfers a trip to States.
“I probably would have messed up if I had known,” Marcantonio said.
But he didn’t mess up.
In fact, it was his score of 43 that clinched it for the Lancer golfers.
Only the top 10 teams in N.H. make it to states, and because of some scheduling mishaps, it all came down to the Lancer team taking 3 out of 4 of their final matches.
Senior captain Dan Pleva said during the last match against Dover and Salem that it actually came down to “the last man coming in with the last score.”
When that last man pulled through for the team, Coach Sicard tweeted, “You want to know what true grit is? I’ll introduce you to 9 guys that had their backs against the wall and achieved.”
This “grit” is exactly what got them to states, which will be at Hanover Country Club on Oct. 8.
At this match, like all matches, each golfer will be in a group with athletes from other schools, and they are not allowed to text or talk to one another during the match.
“Unless you happened to pass up one of your teammates and he shoots you a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down,’ to let you know how he’s doing,” junior Dalton Shields said, “you really don’t know how anyone is doing.”
Pleva said that it is in those moments you just have to “focus on yourself.”
“I just want to go out and play the best I humanly can and see where it ends up,” Pleva said.
Pleva hopes to be one of the top 25 golfers at the match Thursday, so that he will qualify for the individual state match on Saturday.
However, qualifying for the individual state match will be a challenge for all the golfers, since Hanover Country Club is a very challenging course, according to Pleva.
“I missed the cut by 2 strokes last year, so I’m hoping to bring it out this year,” Pleva said. “I shot a 79 when I played this summer, so if I can do that again, then I think I’ll be fine since the cut is 80.”
Junior Nick McCann said the challenge for the guys will be that it’s an 18-hole course.
“I’m really excited to play, but it’s the hardest course I’ve ever played,” McCann said. “Normally our matches are only 9 holes, so 18 holes really tests your ability to play. I just need to take my time with each shot, and think about the best strategy for this course.”
Varsity Golf Team Roster
