Ben Skirpac shot four under par to lead Bulldogs at Ellsworth Meadows

Ben Skirpac was in a zone.

That is why the Stow-Munroe Falls senior shot a 68, four below par, during the boys golf team’s season opener in the first of four Suburban League Tournaments Aug. 8 at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson.

“Ben was unbelievable. He was low medalist for all 15 teams, including the American Conference. It was his lowest score in the last two years. It was fun to watch,” Bulldogs head coach Chet Feldman said. “It was one of those where you literally just sit back and watch. I didn’t want to mess with Ben, I didn’t want to talk to him. He was hitting great shots. His driver was straight and long. He hits it so far. And he’s just so dialed in with his approach shots. His putting was phenomenal. That’s really where you shave strokes.”

Overall, there was more good news for Stow-Munroe Falls. The Bulldogs won the National Conference with a score of 305. It wasn’t even close. Hudson, the defending conference champion, finished second with a score of 317. Wadsworth was third with a score of 328.

“Our performance was outstanding,” said Feldman. “I didn’t know what to expect in the very first match, especially when Hudson is the defending conference champ, and they had a lot of good players returning. I knew we had the potential in us to win it.”

Three days later, on Aug. 11, Stow-Munroe Falls finished sixth out of 20 teams with a score of 316 in the Brunswick Invitational at Pine Hills Golf Club in Hinckley.

Also for Stow-Munroe Falls in the league tournament, senior Mitch Tyger shot a 78, freshman Eddie Norman, Jr. shot a 79, and sophomore Austin Wilhoit carded an 80.

“Mitch had a really good round,” Feldman said. “As for Eddie, for a freshman to come in the very first event we have, and it happens to be our conference tournament, and shoot a 79, I was overly impressed with that. He’s been working at it all summer. That kid has been playing in tournaments, he’ll go to the range for two hours at night all summer long. He’s a workaholic.

“Austin works at it constantly in the summertime. He’s always playing golf. He’s at Silver Lake Country Club quite a bit. He plays in tournaments. He’s been working at it and just loves the game.”

Overall in the Brunswick Invitational, Akron Hoban won the competition with a score of 288. Cleveland St. Ignatius finished second.

“That tournament was all about putting,” said Feldman. “My kids couldn’t get the pace of the greens down very well. They struggled. They had more three-putts than we’ve had in a long time.”

Skirpac shot a 2-over-par 73, good for sixth place overall.

“Ben was still dialed in,” the coach said. “He double-bogeyed 18, or he would’ve been even par. He did really well. To shoot anything close to even par at that golf course is a great score. The co-winners shot 69, so Ben was right there.”

Wilhoit shot an 80, Norman shot an 81, and Tyger carded an 82.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to compete in a 10 a.m. shotgun start Aug. 15 in the Hudson Invitational at The Country Club of Hudson. The next morning, at 9 a.m. on Aug. 16, they are set to compete in a tournament at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson.

Girls golf: Berlingieri sisters finish at 79 and 81 at Lady Rider Invitational

The Berlingieri sisters are leading the way this young season for the girls golf team.

Gabby, a junior, and Olivia, a freshman, have finished either first or second overall in two of the Bulldogs’ first three tournaments.

To start the season, Gabby shot a 79 and Olivia an 81 in the Lady Rider Invitational Aug. 6 at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Kent.

“Gabby played well. She finished in the top 10,” head coach Scotte Rorabaugh said. “For her first official high school event, I thought Olivia handled it well and struck the ball well. Clean up a few little mistakes here and there, and she would’ve probably been in the 70s.”

Five days later, on Aug. 11, Olivia shot an 83 while Gabby shot an 86 in the first of four Suburban League Tournaments at Pleasant Valley Golf Course in Medina.

“It was a good, solid performance from Olivia,” said Rorabaugh. “She’s starting off pretty strong for her freshman year in high school.”

Also for Stow-Munroe Falls in the Lady Rider Invitational, senior McKenzie Ickes shot an 88, and sophomore Sophia Thompson carded a 92.

The Bulldogs finished sixth overall out of 12 teams with a score of 340. Rocky River Magnificat won the competition with a score of 312.

“It was a good field, good, strong competition,” the coach said. “The girls played well, but it was a tough, challenging golf course. The greens are always a challenge at that course. It was a good way to start the season.”

Also for Stow-Munroe Falls in the Suburban League Tournament, Ickes shot a 91 and Thompson shot a 92.

Overall, the Bulldogs finished third in the National Conference with a score of 352. Hudson won the competition with a score of 331 and Nordonia was second with a score of 333.

“We played well,” said Rorabaugh. “It was the first time we played that course for league tournaments. I think four of our six girls had never played there before, so it was a new experience for them. Hudson and Nordonia are definitely the two strongest teams in our conference, so that’s who we’re trying to shoot for. We hope we catch up to them.”

Sandwiched in between the Lady Rider Invitational and the Suburban League Tournament was the Hudson Lady Explorer Invitational Aug. 8 at Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson.

Gabby Berlingieiri tied for seventh in the AM Wave with an 81.

“Gabby played very well, pretty consistent,” Rorabaugh said. “That’s kind of her thing. She keeps the ball in play and doesn’t really get in trouble a whole lot.”

Thompson finished 14th with an 87, Ickes tied for 20th with a 93 and Olivia Berlingieiri tied for 38th with a 98.

Overall, Stow-Munroe Falls finished fourth out of 17 teams in the AM Wave with a score of 359.

Strongsville won the competition with a score of 344. Suburban League crossover rival Kent Roosevelt placed second with a score of 349 and Solon was third with a score of 350.

“Lake Forest is a very challenging golf course. The rough is always pretty thick,” said Rorabaugh. “The girls struggled a little bit, but overall we had a decent finish.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to oppose Aurora, another league crossover rival, at 3:30 pm. Aug. 16 at Grantwood Golf Course in Solon.

Girls soccer: Bulldogs win season opener 3-0 over Louisville

Sometimes, the most dangerous lead a soccer team can have is 2-0.

“If the other team scores, then it’s 2-1 and there’s sort of a momentum shift,” girls soccer head coach Jim Dudones said.

Dudones’ team was in just that position Aug. 12 in its season opener at Louisville, having jumped ahead 2-0 at halftime on goals by senior midfielder Kailey Hobart and then junior forward Paityn Marino.

“We talked at halftime about not letting Louisville get back into the game and just kind of crushing their spirit,” said Dudones.

And that is exactly what the Bulldogs did, scoring on another goal by Hobart en route to a 3-0 victory.

Dudones’ squad was going up against a very talented goalkeeper.

“That was the one thing I feared going in,” the coach said. “Sometimes the goalkeeper has a hot hand, and then you get frustrated, but that didn’t happen. We broke through, and the floodgates opened. We created a lot of opportunities to score

“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job. We didn’t surrender very many chances at all. I’m very proud of our effort overall.”

The Bulldogs are set to travel to Medina at 7 p.m. Aug. 20.

“That is a different fish than the one we had to fry up on Saturday,” said Dudones. “It’s a totally different deal. Medina is statewide good. It will be a good test for us.”

Boys soccer: Jackson exploits defensive bugs in 4-0 loss

A couple of key defensive breakdowns were the name of the game Aug. 12 for the boys soccer team in a season-opening 4-0 loss at home to Massillon Jackson.

“The first 20 minutes of the game, we did a nice job of pressuring Jackson. We kind of had the game in their end,” head coach Kyle Kosmala said. “The second part of the first half, they kind of turned the tide and scored near the end of the half. It was a play where our back and our goalkeeper kind of had the ball but didn’t get control of it, and they ended up scoring.”

It was the same story in the second part of the second half.

“The first 10-15 minutes, we came out and did real well, pressured Jackson,” said Kosmala. “But then we had another defensive breakdown, and they ended up scoring to make it 2-0.”

The Polar Bears then put it in cruise control the rest of the way, but Kosmala said the final score was a bit deceiving.

“A lot of times when you lose by a score like 4-0, it’s because the other team is in your end the entire time, but I didn’t feel like that was the case,” he said. “We just need to work on making sure that we don’t have any more defensive breakdowns.”

Playing well despite the defeat were junior central midfielder Carson Boyd, junior back line player Ben Dunmire and freshman outside backer Mateo Garduno.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a home game against Kent Roosevelt at 7 p.m. Aug. 20.

Girls tennis: Cuyahoga Falls wins 5-0 in season opener

The girls tennis team may have lost 5-0 at home to National Conference rival Cuyahoga Falls Aug. 10 in its season opener, but that doesn’t mean there were no positives for the Bulldogs.

“We had some competitive matches in the singles, so I was happy to see the singles players compete well,” head coach Brian Banas said. “In the doubles, our inexperience showed a bit, but I was happy with the energy and the effort of those girls.”

Senior McKenna Hoffstetter lost in first singles 6-2, 6-0, junior Leah Bentley lost a tough one in second singles 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, and freshman Kamryn Martin fell in No. 3 singles 6-1, 7-5.

“Leah got off to a strong start and played a real solid first set. Her backhand was very strong in that first set,” said Banas. “Unfortunately, in the second and third sets she made a few more errors and couldn’t quite close it out.

“Kamryn has not played a lot of tennis, period, so she’s pretty new to the game. I think she was a little nervous when she took the court. She actually got off to a big lead in the second set, but she couldn’t quite hold it. She has a nice, steady forehand and good footwork. We were encouraged to see her do reasonably well.”

The No. 1 doubles team of juniors Claire Goetz and Makayla Witner lost 6-1, 6-1, while senior Sophie Ing and sophomore Sam Houlihan teamed at second doubles and fell 6-0, 6-3.

On Aug. 18, the Bulldogs are scheduled to go up against Kent Roosevelt.