Bulldog golf teams primed to continue success in 2022

At the start of every season, the goals of the Stow-Munroe Falls boys golf team are always the same: win the Suburban League National Conference and qualify for the state tournament.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished a close second to Hudson in the National Conference and advanced to districts but not state. Second-year head coach Chet Feldman is hoping this season will be a different story.

“Stow and Hudson battle for the top spot in the conference every year,” Feldman said. “Hudson is strong again this year. They have a bunch of young kids coming back, so it’s going to be tough to knock them off.”

Feldman will have to withstand the losses to graduation of Dylan Dunn and Joey DeSimone, two very talented players. His lineup this season is three-quarters of the way set with seniors Ben Skirpac and Mitch Tyger and sophomore Austin Wilhoit.

“Ben is a great player. He works at it every single day,” said Feldman. “He’s been playing in the summer events like AJGA for the last couple years and is getting recruited by Division I schools. He’s straight off the tee, he’s very smart, knows how to manage a course. He also has very good touch on the putting greens. Last season, he did not have a score over 80.

“I had Mitch two years ago in my first season with the team as the junior varsity head coach. He was my No. 1 player on JV, so I’ve been with him all three years. He’s an absolute great kid, loves the game of golf, works at it, has improved so much since that sophomore year. I’m looking for good things from him. He got into a lot more tournaments this summer and is doing well in those tournaments. The best part of his game is just managing the course.

“Austin started last year on JV but worked his way up and was a mainstay on varsity by the end of the season. He had really good scores.”

Feldman is searching for his No. 4 player among two returning sophomores and six freshmen.

“If any of those young kids step up,” he said, “I’m confident we can win the conference and go pretty far.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to open the season with the first of four conference tournaments at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson.

Girls golf

Like the boys golf team, the girls golf squad is hoping to make a return trip to districts this season.

“Last year, we finished third in sectionals and qualified for districts for the second time in three years. Those were the first two times that the Stow girls program has ever qualified for districts,” fifth-year head coach Scotte Rorabaugh said of his team that also placed third in the National Conference behind champion Hudson and Nordonia. “Hudson and Nordonia are two very, very good teams. I think Hudson returns everybody but one, and Nordonia returns all of their players from last year, so it will be a challenge for us.”

Rorabaugh lost the talented Ellie Ryan to graduation, but the top three spots on the team are set with returning players Gabby Berlingieri, a junior; McKenzie Ickes, the lone senior on the team; and freshman Olivia Berlingieri, Gabby’s sister.

“Gabby is a very strong player, a returning First Team All-Conference player and Honorable Mention All-Northeast Ohio player,” said Rorabaugh. “She missed out on being the National Conference Player of the Year last year by one stroke over the three conference tournaments. She’s very talented. She has good distance off the tee but just needs to improve that short game a little to get her up there and to be able to compete with top players in our area.

“McKenzie is a four-year varsity player. She’s a good, consistent player. She drives the ball very well but needs to clean up her short game a little bit to get that game where it needs to be. I’m looking for her to be a good team leader this season and finish strong her senior year. I think she’s looking to play in college, so hopefully this will be a good, solid season for her.

“Olivia has been playing for a number of years, has been playing in tournaments around this area and has had some good success this summer. I look forward to her contributing to our team as a freshman and starting off a good, solid career as a Bulldog.”

The last few positions are up in the air among five girls.

“I expect we’ll do well in the conference, and hopefully that will prepare us for sectionals,” Rorabaugh said. “Hopefully, we’ll qualify for districts again, which is our ultimate goal. Our girls have been putting in the work this summer.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to open the season at Kent Roosevelt’s Lady Rider Invitational at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Fairways at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Kent.