LEICESTER – Crowning a champion came down to a tie-breaker at the South Worcester County League (SWCL) high school golf tournament at the Leicester Country Club Tuesday afternoon. As Grafton and Millbury sat together on the first-place perch knotted at 315 strokes apiece, it was junior Noah Barnatt’s 11-over-par 81 that proved to be the deciding score to break the stalemate and earn the Gators’ their third straight league title.
“As for Noah shooting the 81, he was initially disappointed by not being in our top four,” said Grafton coach Bill Stock. “However, once he realized that his 81 was going to be the difference-maker he felt good about himself and the contribution he was able to make. They have all heard me talk about the importance of them just staying focused on their own rounds and not getting concerned about what others might be doing. Thankfully, Noah did that yesterday and his score put us over the top.”
Each team is allowed a maximum of six golfers to compete in the 18-hole competition. The top four lowest scores from each team were then added up. The team with the lowest combined score wins the tournament. The top four scorers for Millbury were Nathan Sousa (76), Mark Monfreda (79), Blake Samuelson (80), and Jaden Palumbo (80) with a combined score of 315. Not to be outdone were Grafton’s Ryan Schiappa (77), Nick Viens (79), Domenic Maynard (79), and Carter Burnett (80), who also combined for 315 to tie Millbury for the top spot. According to league rules, the tie was broken by the better score from the fifth-place finishers, who were Barnatt of Grafton and Dan Gerard of Millbury. Barnatt’s stellar 81-stroke performance overtook Gerard’s 98 to earn the Gators the victory with a tie-breaker score of 396 to Millbury’s 413.
Stock, who has coached Grafton High School for two decades, was pleased by his team’s accomplishment. “I have been quite fortunate to coach the Grafton High golf team because I have also had a group of players that wanted to get better,” he said. “That is true of my teams in the past and it is true for this year as well. We have had a lot of success throughout the years and it is all due to the effort the players have made to get better.”
The final team results are as follows:
- Grafton, 315 (396-tiebreaker)
Uxbridge junior Sophie Compston sizes up the green before a putt during the recent SWCL Golf Tournament. She finished the day with a 93. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba
- Millbury, 315 (413, tiebreaker)
- Auburn, 330
- Tantasqua, 337
- Uxbridge, 359
- Northbridge, 370
- Quaboag, 386
- Leicester, 388
- David Prouty, 407
- Oxford, 411
- Bartlett, 424.
Stock said he was impressed with the competition from Millbury and the other schools in the tournament. “It was not surprising to see Millbury High play so well yesterday,” he said. “It seems that Millbury High, Tantasqua Regional and Auburn High are always near the top with us battling for the championship. All three of these programs are very well coached and have players that represent their schools admirably.”
Schiappa, who was the defending champion, came in second behind Sousa by one stroke. After a slow start in the front nine, Schiappa was tied in ninth place with 40 strokes, but he was able to recover by shooting a tournament best of 37 on the back nine.
“On the front nine, I couldn’t predict my misses,” Schiappa said. “I didn’t know if I was going to pull it or slice it. I just couldn’t really control anything. I just couldn’t find it on the front nine, but I was able to predict my misses in the back nine. Just one of those days. If I was hooking it left on the front nine, I knew I was able to aim it more right on the back to correct it.
Grafton senior Ryan Schiappa. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba
“I knew I had to play well coming into this tournament,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. I didn’t have a good front nine, but I knew I could possibly get it back and to possibly win it. I just had to grind it on the back nine and shot 37. I’m pretty happy about that.”
Despite not hanging onto the title, Stock said Schiappa never stopped fighting. “I can tell you that he probably was disappointed with his 77, because he wasn’t at his best,” Stock said. “But that’s when you find out about a player’s resolve. He showed a lot of grit out there … he had to grind his way through the round.”
As for Sousa, the new champ, the Millbury sophomore picked a good day to shoot his lowest career score of 6-over-par 76. His prior best came on the Pleasant Valley course in Sutton for a 6-over-par 78. Sousa said he surprised himself with his performance. “Believe it or not, I came in hoping to break 90 today,” said the new champion. “It’s crazy.”
Sousa began the round inauspiciously, but the turning point for his game came after his double bogie at the eighth hole when he went on a ten-hole par streak. “After that ten-hole par streak I had, I was like, dude, I got this. I was just locked in. I was hitting every fairway. I was just bombing everything. I got in the zone. I was like, I got this. Because once I was locked in, I didn’t get out until the end of that round.”
Although Sousa may have been surprised by his performance, his coach was not. “(Ninety) may have been his mindset, but that was not realistic. He’s very good,”
Millbury sophomore Nathan Sousa. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba
said Millbury coach Stephen Reno. “I’m actually not surprised by this. He’s actually one of those kids when you see him hit the ball, he’s loaded with talent. I told him many times, he’s as talented as anyone in the league.”
Schiappa was gracious in defeat, shaking hands and congratulating Sousa on a job well done. “Whoever shoots the better score, deserves it,” he said with a smile after his round.
Stock said he is not shocked by Schiappa’s good sportsmanship. “That doesn’t surprise me in the least about Ryan,” he said. “It’s what I would expect from him because he is such a class act. It’s why coaching him these four years has been an honor.”
The final individual results are as follows:
- Nathan Sousa, Millbury, 6-over-par 76.
- Ryan Schiappa, Grafton, 7-over 77.
- Will Piett, Northbridge, 8-over 78.
- Dominic Maynard, Grafton, 9-over 79.
Mark Monfreda, Millbury, 9-over 79.
Nick Viens, Grafton, 9-over 79.
- Carter Burnett, Grafton, 10-over 80.
Blake Samuelson, Millbury, 10-over 80
Jaden Palumbo, Millbury, 10-over 80
Cooper C’Meil, Auburn, 10-over 80
Schiappa said he places individual accomplishments secondary. “I just hope we get the team win,” he said. The Gators did just that as the team proved to be deep in
Tantasqua senior Drew Howard takes a swing during the recent SWCL Tournament. He completed the day with an 89. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba
talent. His teammates Dominic Maynard and Nick Viens both tied for fourth place overall.
“Domenic Maynard has one of the best swings on the team,” Stock said. “Definitely has a lot of potential.”
Stock said Viens’s hard work in the offseason paid off with an excellent performance. “I was so pleased for him and the fact he went out and shot a very solid 79,” he said. “Nick has been on the team for three years and he finally had his moment. He has played a lot of golf this past summer to get ready for his senior year and yesterday all of that time on the course paid dividends for him.”
Carter Burnett was another top golfer for Grafton in the tournament, finishing tied for fifth. “Carter spent the time this summer playing in several NEPGA Jr. Tournaments and that experience has helped to make him a better golfer this season,” Stock said. “I think he is just starting to reach his potential and if he continues to play in tournament golf, he will see continued improvement in his game.”
Barnatt’s tie-breaker earned him a tie for sixth place. “Noah has been progressing all season long and he is going to get better,” Stock said. “Like many of us, he needs to really focus on his short game to reach the next level.”
Grafton seniors Nick Viens and Ryan Schiappa with the first-place team trophy and certificate. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba
Freshman Jack McCaffrey scored a respectable 86 for the Gators. Although he did not score for his team, he did rank tied for 23rd place out of 58 competitors. He also would have placed top four on several other teams in the competition and even beat or tied the top finishers from three teams. “As a Freshman, I had no idea what to expect from him when we started the season,” Stock said. “He has been a pleasant surprise. Jack has progressively been improving and the experiences he has had this season should provide him with the foundation to improve.”
Overall, it was a good day for Grafton. “We have had success in past years at the SWCL Tournament,” Stock said. “This was the third time winning for Ryan. For the others, this is their first time being on the championship team so they were very excited.”
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