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06/14/2021 12:00 AMThe Morgan boys’ golf squad wrapped up its season last week with play in the Division III State Championship. The Huskies came in 14th place out of 20 teams and also saw senior captain Jason Cohen earn a spot in the State Open. Head Coach Eric Bergman’s squad had a pretty solid season overall as the Huskies looked to create a solid foundation for their program for years to come.
On June 7, the Huskies headed to Stanley Golf Course for an early championship tee time. Morgan tallied a team score of 379 for 14th place, five strokes behind Granby Memorial and four strokes ahead of Sheehan.
Coach Bergman had hoped to see a stronger finish to the year from his team, but he believes that the Huskies were a bit groggy due to the early start.
“We were grouped with Waterford, Suffield, and Sheehan. We had an early tee time,” said Coach Bergman. “We left at a quarter to six in the morning. I think the early tee time hurt our players a little bit. They didn’t seem to wake up for a couple of holes. Teenagers’ body clocks don’t seem to function at a time like that for the most part.”
Still, Cohen managed to qualify for the State Open, which means he earns Division III All-State honors in recognition of his quality play. That also means that Cohen will have his name hanging at The Morgan School for posterity.
“Our senior captain Jason Cohen qualified for a State Open. Each division selects 10 players with 30 percent of the decision being based on states and the rest through the season-long differential. Jason got into that with an 82,” Bergman said. “It’s a special honor. It gets his name on a banner in the gym. I think he was aiming for a score in the high 70s at states so he’d have some more breathing room. That 82 just got him in there.”
In addition to earning the State Open qualification, Cohen also continued to play a leadership role for his squad mates on the big stage.
“Jason is a bit stoic, but he does loosen up. He has the right temperament for the game,” said Coach Bergman. “He’s helped some of the other players calm down a bit simply by the way he carries himself and his composure. I think that’s going to have a positive effect once he’s graduated, but we still have to determine who will be our captain next year.”
Over the 18-hole course, Cohen shot an 82, which earned him a tie for 13th place. Nick Schmidt shot a 92 and tied for 43rd place, while Giuliano tied for 69th place with 98 strokes in the match. Tyler Greenhouse scored 107 at states and ended up in 89th place, and Andrew Nye turned in a mark of 108 and came in 90th place.
The Huskies finished up the year with an 11-4 record, which Coach Bergman thought was a very strong mark for his squad considering the teams that those four losses came against.
“We went 11-4 on the season. All of our four losses were in each of our two matches against Hand and Portland. Those teams are your Division II state champion and your Division IV state champion,” said Bergman. “I think playing against competition like that helps our team get better. Hand’s Coach Jim Holleran and I have been scheduling these home and away matches for a few years now. I think next year when things hopefully open up more, we can schedules some more out-of-conference matches against teams like Branford and Guilford. It gives looks at different courses, and our players meet kids from different parts of the state. It’s helpful.” The Huskies will only be graduating one player in Cohen, so hopefully returning players like Nye, Giuliano, Schmidt, and Greenhouse can continue to make strides in their games.
“CJ Guiliano as a freshman has great potential to be an All-State player down the road. It really depends on how much time he’s willing to commit. He’s a guy that can really make a name for himself by the time this is done,” said Bergman. “Drew’s a natural athlete. He could play any spring sport and excel at it, but we hope he sticks with golf. He also has a younger brother who wants to be part of the program too in Jack Nye. We’ve had kids that come in as a freshmen with a lot of competitive experience and hit the ground running. I think CJ could be the player to ‘replace’ Jason’s score as far as who’s on the team right now.”
Looking ahead to next season, Coach Bergman believes that Portland will probably still have a stranglehold on the Shoreline Conference, but if the Huskies work to get competitive experience over the off season, then Bergman believes they can begin to close that gap.
“Portland shot lights out in the Division IV state tournament, and I don’t think they graduate too many players. The conference is going to be tough with Portland there,” said Bergman. “Clearly, our players are going to have to get involved in the summer tournaments. I would say for 2022, I think we are still in the top-4 of the conference. Portland will be No. 1, and we’ll see how it plays out after that. I think if we want to make any run, we have to be out there this summer, grinding and developing strategies.”