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06/13/2022 12:00 AMWith a roster full of seniors, the East Haven golf team established a goal of qualifying for the Division II State Championship in the 2022 spring season. As those seniors graduate, Head Coach Rick Narracci wants the returning Yellowjackets to use their experience this year as a building block and learn from any setbacks that they experienced on the course.
East Haven competed in the Division II State Championship that was held at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron on June 6. The Yellowjackets finished in 16th place for the state meet by posting a collective score of 396 on the day.
Senior Norah Rome and fellow senior Ethan Roach led the pack for the Easties at states with both players carding a score of 95 over 18 holes to finish in a tie for 54th place. Senior Nick Sorrentino finished in a tie for 71st place with a score of 102. Junior Dom Plano posted a score of 104 to finish in 76th place, while sophomore Mike Savo was tied for 77th place by scoring a 105.
Coach Narracci admitted that it wasn’t East Haven’s best performance of the season, saying that those types of days happen in golf on occasion. However, Narracci was highly impressed with the performance of Rome, who he believes played her best golf of the year during the postseason. Rome had previously competed at the SCC Girls’ Golf Championship, where she finished in 10th place with a score of 100.
“Norah played exceptionally well,” Narracci said. “She finished the season at the SCC Championship and in states playing her two best rounds of the year.”
Coach Narracci was proud of his team for achieving its goal of making it to the Division II State Championship. Narracci said that the Easties showed their potential when they recorded a team score of 163 against Hillhouse earlier in the year. Narracci felt that any struggles for the club came down to consistency.
“Qualifying was a goal from the beginning of the year. I thought we had played well. We shot a 163 earlier in the year, which was by far our best score in the last three years,” said Narracci, whose team went 9-7-1 during the regular season. “Consistency is what we lacked all year, and I think that’s what cost us at the State Tournament.”
Coach Narracci said that the Yellowjackets performed their best when they were able to stay out of trouble on the links. In order to become a good golfer, Narracci believes that you have to be willing to accept a bogey, rather than going all-out for par. Heading into next season, Narracci wants his athletes play to compete on an even keel and play to their strengths during matches.
“Part of being a good golfer is not posting a big number on a hole and getting out of trouble. A bogey sometimes is a good score on a hole,” Narracci said. “When we were inconsistent, we would sometimes try to do too much on a hole. Sometimes you just have to take your medicine and take a bogey instead of trying to make a par, which turns into a double or triple. Sometimes we fell victim to that.”
This season, four of the eight players on East Haven’s roster were seniors. With Sorrentino as the captain, the Yellowjackets’ senior class also included Rome, Roach, and Mike Gagliardi. Narracci felt that the experience of the seniors was crucial since they had a better understanding of the courses. Narracci added that it will difficult to replace the four seniors who are graduating from the team this season.
“Anytime you have players involved with the program for two, three, some four years, it helps experience-wise. Not only knowing your home course, but having the opportunity to play at multiple different courses,” said Narracci. “We’ll be in a rebuilding mode next year after losing four people this year.”
For the athletes coming back next season, Coach Narracci wants them to build off of their miscues and use the summer as a way to improve their games. The returning players from this year’s team are Plano, Savo, sophomore Nick Vance, and freshman Billy Demetriades. As they continue through the program and form the team’s nucleus, Narracci wants his players to gain more experience and learn how to exploit their home-course advantage.
“Learn from your mistakes. The summer is your offseason. That’s where you’ll play most of your golf,” Narracci said. “Use that time to work on some of the weaknesses. Once you get to your junior, senior year, you should know your way around your home course.”
While his team may be entering a bit of a rebuilding phase, Coach Narracci does see a light at the end of the tunnel. As the Yellowjackets continue to build the program, Narracci is hoping that East Haven can improve its state ranking and ultimately make a name for itself in the Southern Connecticut Conference in future campaigns.
“We want to keep climbing the state ranking. We want to qualify for the SCC Tournament. I don’t think East Haven has done that in a while, if ever,” said Narracci. “But to do that, you have to win your division. Those are the goals.”