Mounties sweep rivals
Cao helps Mount overcome Northmen, Villa Novans
BELLINGHAM – When school started late last summer, Mount St. Charles head coach Mike Masterson received more than a pleasant surprise, though he didn’t know it at the time.
A foreign exchange student from Beijing, China approached the veteran health and physical education teacher and told him how interested she was in representing the school’s golf team.
Her name: Daisy Cao. “I didn’t think much of it, so I told her, ‘We play in the spring, so come see me then,’” Masterson joked. “I knew as soon as I saw her swing she was legit. It’s as smooth as butter.”
The talented Mountie may be Masterson’s No. 4 linkster in his top six, but she fired a seven-over 43 – the Mounties’ second best score of the day – to help her
new squad sweep a pair of Northern Division contests against North Smithfield (180-190) and Woonsocket (180-213) at New England Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior and usual No. 3 Alex Niedzwiadek manufactured a team-best 40, sophomore and No. 1 starter Ben Ellis a disgruntling 46 and junior Matt Peris a 51 for the 180 that upped Mount’s league mark to 3-2 overall.
North Smithfield senior Ryan Deslauriers claimed medalist honors with a fine threeover 39 over the beautiful, hilly front side, while freshman Aaron Jarry shot 47, junior Shawn Ready 51 and classmate Kyle Karspeck 53.
Cao admitted she had chosen the Ocean State as a place to further her secondary education, and in particular Mount because “I knew it had a good golf program.”
She also indicated that she would’ve been happier with her round if not for a “snowman” (triple-bogey eight) on the opening par-five first hole.
“I was not happy, but I said to myself, ‘Calm down. You can do this,’” she stated. “I’m not really satisfied because I had a four-putt, and – I guess – also because I had the eight on the first hole.”
Noted Masterson: “Daisy should have had an eagle on (the par-5 fifth); she was on in two, but then three-putted for par. She also bogeyed the fifth, but came back strong. She was only one over the final four holes.
“Look at that,” he continued. “She had 13 putts for four holes. You take away just four of them, and she’s in at 39 … Daisy had a pair of 46s in the first two matches, so she’s showing signs of improvement. She actually had a 40 in practice at Country View (Golf Course on Tuesday).”
Masterson mentioned Cao has taken over the fourth slot because his trio of Ellis, Nied- zwiadek and sophomore Alex Dumas played for him last spring.
“They were all starters for me last year, and they’ve all been in the low 40s, while Daisy has been in the mid-40s in practice and matches,” he said. “It’s only fair to them.”
Deslauriers admitted he had mixed emotions about firing his 39, a round that included birdies on the two par fives, the 497-yard first and 490-yard fifth. He nevertheless surrendered bogeys on the par-four 2md and third holes, not to mention the par-three 6th; and doubled the 320-yard, par-four 8th.
When told he took the circuitous route to the three-over score, he grinned and shook his head, “Yeah, that’s how I play golf. It’s never easy with me. My inconsistency sometimes drives me crazy. I don’t start to make more shots and play more even until midway through the summer, when the high school season is over.
“I haven’t been playing overly well at the start of the season, but that’s because I haven’t played enough rounds yet, not with the weather being what it has. It’s caused my ball striking and feel around the greens to be inconsistent, but that’s to be expected.
“I thought I played a lot better than 39,” he continued. “I had a three-putt on the sixth after birdying (the fifth). The double happened because I hit my tee shot in the trees on the left, then got into trouble coming out.”
Like Deslauriers, Mount’s Ellis couldn’t express much satisfaction.
“Last year here, I shot 40, but I (ballooned) to a 46 (Wednesday),” he stated. “I drove the ball well, but my short game was way off. I mean, I had five three-putts. A lot of them lipped out, which drove me crazy. I could have scored better. Unfortunately, I didn’t.”
The Northmen split their double-dual matches, so moved to 2-5 on the campaign. The host Villa Novans, on the other hand, fell to 0-7, though head coach Chad Lamoureux seemed rather upbeat afterward.
Junior Dylan Klein mustered a 49, while classmates Austin Abramek (50), Lorenzo Frisbee (56) and Ryan Senior (58) also figured in the scoring.
“Every player we put out there improved their stroke play (Wednesday),” he offered positively. “The greatest improvement came from (senior) Jared Rivard; he didn’t score (in the top four), but he was six strokes better with a 61.
“And my No. 1 (Klein) is coming into his own,” he added. “He improved by five strokes. He had shot back-to-back-to-back 54s, but he had 49 here, and that was with triple bogeys on the third and fifth. He also had a 46 (Tuesday) in practice.
“The guys are getting better; that’s what I like to see.”
Mount St. Charles 180, North Smithfield 190, Woonsocket 213
Mount St. Charles scores: Alex Niedzwiadek 40, Daisy Cao 43, Ben Ellis 46, Matt Peris 51.
North Smithfield scores: Ryan Deslauriers 39, Aaron Jarry 47, Shawn Ready 51, Kyle Karspeck 53.
Woonsocket scores: Dylan Klein 49, Austin Abramek 50, Lorenzo Frisbee 56, Ryan Senior 58.