By The Beacon Sports Staff

The SeaWolves golf team finished their season traveling to New Hampshire to play in the Yankee Small College Conference Championship on Oct. 14th. The tournament took place at Pease Golf Course and was hosted by Great Bay Community College. The SeaWolves took to the course as one of a five-team field with 20 golfers participating.

For the day, the SeaWolves would strike the ball 354 times, 18 strokes behind Paul Smith, whose golfers tallied a 336. The New Hampshire Technical College Lynx team fell one stroke behind SMCC, recording a 355; the University of Maine-Augusta finished the day’s work with a 466. Unfortunately, the host school, Great Bay, would not be able to record a team score: They didn’t field four golfers.

Individually, SeaWolf Kevin Dwyer scored lowest for the team, finishing the day with an 85. Dwyer has recorded the team low four times this season and finishes the season with an 86.6 average for 18 holes over five matches played in.

Freshman golfer Hunter Carignan would record an 87 for the day. Carignan would be the sole SeaWolf golfer to play in all six matches and has the lowest team scoring average with an 86.  

Sophomore McKenze Coyne, who has lost 16 strokes off of her scorecard over the course of the season, finished the day with a season-low 90. Seth Chim finished off the team, scoring a 92. Chim, who played in four matches, ended the season with an 89.3 average.

First-year SeaWolf Tyler Hensley would record a season-low 97. Tyler has cut 14 strokes off of his card over the course of the season.

Reflecting on the team’s play at the YSCC championships, Ethan Wells, the SeaWolf head coach, stated, “We ran into a Paul Smith’s team that was really feeling it today and hats off to them. Nonetheless we battled mentally, at times getting ourselves out of trouble and bouncing back after a poor hole. All finished strong, turning in an improved back nine. It was a pleasing way to end a fantastic season.”

For the work Coach Wells has done in preparing the SeaWolf golfers for match and tournament play, he was recognized as the YSCC Golf Coach of the Year. Wells guided the golfers to one first-place finish and three second-place tallies.

The Beacon reached out to Wells regarding next year. While the SeaWolves will lose Kevin Dwyer and Seth Chim to graduation, Wells was optimistic. Returning three was “a solid core to move forward with,” he said. “Hunter Carignan has shown that he can golf in the 1 spot, both McKenze Coyne and Tyler Hensley improved with every match this season and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with another season.”    

Individual awards went to Paul Smith’s Taylor West for Player of the Year. West shot tournament low carding a 77. Mike Gardner and Austin Delosh from Paul Smith’s, UMA’s Evan Kordalski, and NHTI’s Taylor Post filled out the rest of the All-Conference Team. The team was determined by the five lowest scores on the day of the tournament. UMA would earn the YSCC Sportsmanship Award.

Of all the fall sports, golf has the shortest season, mainly because of the weather. Regardless, in the short conversation the Beacon had with Ethan Wells, he stated, “I would like to see YSCC golf expand its season, deeper into October and offer one or two matches in May. Of course, this gets tricky with New England weather conditions. YSCC golf is competitive with a field of 6 teams.”

Asked how he might keep his players in shape physically and mentally over the off-season, Wells said, “A long offseason lends itself to plenty of opportunity in preparation for next season. I plan to keep our team swinging with indoor virtual golf sessions, and as soon as courses open in the spring, get them outside through the summer.”

In summing up what Wells gets out of the YSCC coaching experience, he ended saying, “Coaches and players have developed relationships and that is what I really enjoy about YSCC golf. Of course, I would love to see more schools join in.”