Wahconah Golfers Edge Mount Greylock
Dos Santos carded a 1-over-par round of 37 Friday on the front nine at Waubeeka Golf Links to earn medalist honors and lead Wahconah to a 173-176 win over Mount Greylock.
“[The season] got off to a little bit of a rough start, but in practice I’ve had a couple of 35s and a 34,” Dos Santos said. “Coach told me to go out and play one shot at a time. Don’t get ahead of yourself, and you’ll be fine.
“On the road, 37 is pretty darn good. I’ll take it.”
Dos Santos said his only experience on the Waubeeka layout has been in high school matches, and up until Friday, it was not all good.
“I’ve never done really well here, so it was nice to come on the road and do really well,” he said.
Nate Dos Santos carded a 42, and Colette Basiliere and Sam Clayton turned in matching 47s to round out the scoring for Wahconah.
Mount Greylock got a 39 from Kyle Alvarez, whose day was highlighted by a 4-foot birdie putt on the 453-yard, par-5 eighth hole.
“I hit driver, and I had about 193 yards [to the hole],” Alvarez said. “I hit a 6-iron and hit it pure. I go the two-putt. It was a good birdie. I was happy with that.”
Alvarez’s day got off to a rough start when his tee shot on the first hole found a pond on the left side of the fairway. The Mounties senior said it did not take him long to bounce back.
“I think it’s tough, but once you hit a good shot and you get confidence, you have to roll with it,” Alvarez said. “The confidence builds up, and you just have to play steady. You have to forget about what happened.
“I think my iron shot into the second hole, that was when I was like, ‘Hey, I can hit some good shots today.’ “
Playing in a foursome with Wahconah’s Basiliere and Noah Bracci, Alvarez also got to see his teammate, Tenley Smith, make a great shot on the par-3 seventh hole. Smith knocked her tee shot to about 15 feet from the pin and sank her birdie putt to highlight a round in which she carded a 51.
Mount Greylock’s other scorers on Friday were Ben Gilooly, who finished at 41, and Bennett Zimmerman and Hunter Sarkis, who each carded a 48.
Mount Greylock hosts St. Joseph on Monday. Wahconah hosts unbeaten Taconic on Tuesday.