ME Hornets Golf's head coach, Bill Melvin.
Senior Mike DeOreo tees off at the Hornet’s Tuesday match against Rockport, where both JV and Varsity secured wins. (Photo: Erika Brown)
By the end of this week, the Manchester Essex golf team will know its postseason fate.
The Hornets were 6-8 as of Monday morning, with a match slated against Rockport on October 11 and the Cape Ann Classic set for a day later, during which Manchester Essex would face both Rockport and Ipswich at Ipswich Country Club to close out the regular season.
If they win all three, the Hornets qualify as a team for the MIAA State Tournament. Lose even one, and it’s the end of the season for this group.
“Both teams are solid top to bottom and well-coached, but we can certainly compete with them,” explains Manchester Essex golf coach Bill Melvin. “If we play good golf, we can be very competitive with both teams, and hopefully come away with some wins.”
The good news is that there is a level of familiarity already with both teams, having faced Ipswich twice and Rockport once already this season. The Hornets split their pair of matches with the Tigers, while they lost to Rockport on September 26.
It also helps that Manchester Essex seems to have momentum in its favor: The Hornets started the season in a 1-6 hole, but quickly dug out of it by going 5-2 after a season-altering win over Georgetown on September 20. Another big win against North Reading the following day helped to right the ship and get things going in the right direction from that point on.
“The two big wins for us were against Georgetown and North Reading,” says Melvin. “Both teams are ahead of us in the standings, and Georgetown beat us solidly early in the year. We came back to beat them at Essex County Club – our home course – and that seemed to be the turning point. We hit our stride when we knocked them off and went 5-2 since then.”
The Hornets got a boost with the development of their younger players as the season has progressed.
“Everyone is really starting to play much better lately,” explains Melvin. “We start three freshmen, who average 18-20 points a match now.”
Melvin points to the evolution of freshmen Matt DeOreo, Gray West and Jack McCavanagh – as well as the play of sophomore Matt Graeter – as crucial to the team’s success this season.
“Those four have picked it up and done a fantastic job for us,” says Melvin. “Their skill level has certainly improved now that they’re used to playing competitive golf at a varsity level.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have one of the best golfers in the Cape Ann League at the top of the lineup, either. Sam Athanas continues to excel for the Hornets, winning the Cape Ann League Open on October 6 and scoring at a high level in each match.
“Sam is a four-year varsity starter and winner of the Cape Ann Open last week, which is a huge accomplishment,” explains Melvin. “He’s one of the top-five golfers in the league, a consistent point-getter for us and he provides outstanding leadership as a captain. He really has played well coming down the homestretch here.”
Athanas isn’t the only veteran making waves for the Hornets during their recent bout of success. Captain Mark Pollack has been a strong contributor, as have junior Lily Brigham (who also competed in the CAL Open last week) and senior Mike DeOreo.
“Mike DeOreo, it’s his first year as a player as a senior, and he’s really been the surprise of the year for us as far as gaining points,” says Melvin.
