Championship swing
Fairfield Prep hoping to defend SCC, Division I golf titles
The expectations are always there for a golf program like Fairfield Prep.
The Jesuits are always expected to contend not just in the Southern Connecticut Conference, but also statewide each season. Prep was able to win a pair of championships last year, including the Division I state title for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.
Can the Jesuits repeat on both fronts? Is the pressure there to do so? That depends upon who you ask.
“I think everyone is expecting us to win now,” senior Charlie Duffy said. “Personally. I don’t think it’s there (pressure), but in the eyes of some, I’d say it’s there. I think as a team, we are strong enough to win. We have to go out and play well as if we hadn’t won it last year.
Prep junior Will Huntington, a New Haven Register All-Area selection last season, had a little bit different take on those expectations.
“There is definitely a little pressure. We have a lot of high hopes because we did it last year,” said Huntington, who tied for second at last year’s Division I meet. “We have to forget about last year and focus on this year.”
Mike Rothberg, also an All-Area selection last year, is considering Sacred Heart among other colleges to continue playing golf at the next level.
“We need to play within ourselves and see what happens. We have to play like we know how to play,” Rothberg said.
Duffy committed to play golf at Loyola (Md.) next fall. He said he also looked at Wisconsin, Alabama, Indiana, Holy Cross and Providence, some for golf, some for academics.
The consensus is if the Jesuits play like they are supposed to when the time comes, the results will follow.
Prep coach Bob Bernier said the goals haven’t changed for the program, just like the expectations haven’t.
“I always tell my players that if we play well, we have a chance to win the league and the state,” Bernier said. “That in itself is a challenge that every team faces — play your best at the right time. Sometimes we’re not as good on the right day and sometimes others are a little better. In this respect the goals haven’t changed, no matter who the competition is.”
Hand was in a similar situation to Fairfield Prep last year. Hand won both the SCC and Division II state championship meets in 2019. The Tigers would have been the favorites for both titles had there been a 2020 season —which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the Tigers still had enough back to make a run in 2021. They were able to sweep the season series from Fairfield Prep. But the Jesuits were able to bounce back and stun Hand in the SCC championship meet at Race Brook Country Club in Orange.
Prep won by a single stroke over Hand.
“Going into SCCs, we didn’t want to lose a third time,” Huntington said. “We were all locked in and we put four decent rounds together on a tough course.”
Prep went on to win Division I for the first time since 1995 behind Huntington’s round of 72 and Duffy’s 73 at Tallwood CC in Hebron.
Prep will not only have a chance to go back-to-back this spring in Division I, but will get another chance this fall. That’s because the school has decided to move to the fall season, joining the FCIAC, SWC, Berkshire League and half of the CCC.
That includes Conard, which finished second to Prep last year. In fact, teams that finished third through ninth last spring in Division I moved to the fall season.
Prep will be an independent this fall. A big reason why the Jesuits are leaving the SCC for golf was to continue to play some of the rivals in the FCIAC that they have played each spring.
They struggled to fill their non-conference schedule this spring and ended up facing both Hamden Hall and Greenwich Country Day — neither of which count toward their regularseason record.
“I was pretty excited (about the move). Playing those rivalries is pretty special and fun,” said Huntington, who will get to have his senior season this fall.
“We took a look at playing in the fall versus playing in the spring and seems like we were the only league of big schools that stayed in the spring,” Bernier told Hearst Connecticut Media in March.
Without the FCIAC teams and the top CCC teams to contend with, it would seem Prep’s road to a repeat would be easier to accomplish. Just don’t expect Bernier to bite on it being less difficult.
“Last season was a treat and this year is a different situation without the FCIAC and CCC traditional championship contenders,” Bernier said. “But we can’t lose sight of the potential for other teams being there at the end. There’s always an unexpected team at or near the top. Maybe that was us last year. If we’re playing our best in late May and June, that will give us our best chance.”
Said Duffy: “It’s a new year. Anything can happen. I expect us to go in there as if nothing happened (last season). At the end of the day, I really think we have a good chance. I don’t want to jinx it, but we are the team to watch and the team to beat this year.”