The Hornets finished 8th out of 12 teams in the MIAA D3 North Sectionals this morning. Sam Athanas (83) was our top individual finishing 10th and just missing state final qualification by one shot. Congratulations to the entire Hornets team and coaching staff on a great season.
Image Courtesy of MERSD Facebook Page
What a difference a year makes.
In 2021, the Manchester Essex golf team won just one match and struggled with inconsistency and inexperience.
In 2022, the Hornets started the season 1-6, but turned things around after that point to go on an 8-2 run to finish the regular season and qualify for that MIAA Div. 3 North Tournament at Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown. Once there, Manchester Essex was able to place a respectable eighth out of 12 teams, scoring a total of 359 points as a team and finishing 71 above par (tournament champion Weston finished with 314 points and 29 above par).
To even qualify for the tourney, the Hornets needed to win their last three matches of the season, including the season-ending Cape Ann Cup against Rockport and Ipswich. Manchester Essex did just that, finishing with an overall record of 9-8 and winning the Cape Ann Cup for the first time since 2019.
It was a remarkable turnaround for a team that took a bit of time to find its way this season.
“I think that there was an expectation that we were going to play competitively this year,” explains Manchester Essex golf coach Bill Melvin. “I think our senior leadership set the table for that, they wanted to go out and play well in their final year, and once they got a taste of winning it seemed to ignite them to make a nice run towards the end.”
Sam Athanas -- one of the top players in the Cape Ann League this year -- shot an 83 to lead the Hornets during the North Sectional. Also of note was the play of freshman Gray West. “He missed the cut for the overall state championship by one stroke, but played well,” Melvin says of Athanas. “Gray shot an 89 for us, which was good. Those two played really well.”
The other four Hornets competing in the Div. 3 North tourney were sophomore Matthew Graeter, junior Lily Brigham, and seniors Mike Deoreo and Mark Pollock.
“To finish eighth out of 12 teams in that tournament was a good showing for us,” says Melvin.
Looking ahead to next season, the Hornets will lose some talented seniors to graduation in the spring, including Jack Dipasquale, Michael Deoreo and captains Athanas and Pollock.
“We’ll certainly miss Sam, Mark and the rest of the seniors who will graduate, but we’ve got a lot of young players who are pretty skilled golfers coming back, and hopefully we can build off of that,” explains Melvin.
At the top of that list Is Brigham, who will be a senior next year. “She is one of the 10 best female golfers in the eastern part of the state,” says Melvin. The coach also singles out West, Graeter, Jack McCavanaugh and Matt Deoreo as key returning contributors for 2023. “I’m hoping those four will help us, and we’ve got some freshmen who didn’t see varsity this year who will hopefully step up,” says Melvin.
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SIDEBAR: Fall Tournament Starts Soon for Football, Field Hockey & Soccer
While the golf team’s postseason run is over, the tournament has yet to begin for the other fall sports.
First up on the calendar is the Manchester Essex Football team, which finished the season with a 4-3 record and will host a Div. 8 Playoff Game against Quaboag Regional Middle/High on November 4 at 7 p.m. at Hyland Field (tickets must be purchased online for this game via GoFan!).
As of press time, the ME field hockey and soccer teams have all qualified for the postseason and are awaiting the announcement of brackets and who they will be playing. The field hockey team finished second overall in the Div. 4 Power Rankings with a 12-2-3 record, girls soccer finished eighth overall in Div. 4 Power Rankings with a record of 7-7-4, and the boys soccer team finished 29th in Div. 4 Power Rankings with a 6-9-3 overall record (but also posted a 6-6-3 in the Cape Ann League Baker).
