Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
With jaw-in-your-lap score, Unionville tops Kennett
Barrickman’s 2-under-par 33 leads sizzling Longhorns
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> It was such an overwhelming display of quality golf, that when the Unionville boys wrapped up a 29-stoke victory over archrival Kennett on Tuesday, many in the Longhorns’ camp were stunned by the final score: 173202.
“To have an under-par team score is nuts,” said Unionville sophomore Charlie Barrickman.
“I have never seen a 173,” added Blue Demons head coach Kevin Murphy. “You occasionally see scores in the low 180s. A 173 is kind of a jaw-in-your-lap score. For us, that would have taken all of my kids shooting their best scores ever on the same day, and we would still not be there.”
With Barrickman’s 2-under 33 leading the way, the ’Horns top five scorers finished at 2-under at par 35 Kennett Square Golf & Country Club. For a little perspective, Unionville’s best round at its home course in 2017 was 178. And that squad went on to capture the state team championship.
“And to think, these guys just beat that by five,” said Longhorns coach Jimmy O’Rourke. “Earlier this season, we were 1-over-par as a group against Oxford (at Wyncote Golf Club), and today we went 2-under. The boys have been looking for that round where we had five scores on fire, and today was it.
“The school doesn’t keep records like that, but I would say if it isn’t the best ever, it’s got to be right up there.”
Now 6-0 in the Ches-Mont American and 8-0 overall, Unionville actually had six golfers break 40. But team depth is so strong that Nate Lyons’ 39 did not even count.
“Our guys have been playing
well, and it was just a matter of time before we got six sub-40 scores,” O’Rourke said. “When you are throwing away a 39, you are doing something as a team.
“We definitely have the swings for sure, but if we get to districts, it might be hard to pick who my top five would be. The one thing I didn’t know about this team heading in was that they are mentally strong. The 2017 team was mentally strong, and had the kind of confidence where they went in knowing we were going to win. These kids have gotten there. Their mental strengths are meeting their physical strengths.”
For visiting Kennett, it was like getting hit by a stray meteor. The Blue Demons (4-3, 6-4) played pretty well – especially senior Kasim Narinesingh-Smith – and were never even close.
“I’m proud of the 202,” Murphy said. “It’s not our best, but we hung in there. I thought we might do a little better because some of our boys play here regularly, but it was tough conditions and the pressure of playing a cross town rival. You could feel the urgency.”
Barrickman called his bogey-free round “pretty clean.” His birdies came at Nos. 4 and 9.
“My tee shots weren’t there today, but I still hit eight greens,” he said.
Junior Michael Keller shot a 1-under 34 for the Longhorns, while seniors Jack Coleman and Jax Puskar fired identical even-par 35s.
“Keller is actually had a couple recent practice rounds where he was 4-under-par (for 18 holes),” O’Rourke said. “He is catching fire.”
Unionville last counted score was a 36 from Johan Tuerff, which ended with a tap-in birdie at the par-5 finishing hole.
“As a team, we are just trying to stay in each round,” Barrickman explained. “Johan (Tuerff) had a shaky start today and he could have easily accepted that it wasn’t his day, but he brought it back.”
Narinesingh-Smith paced
Kennett with a 37 in which he struggled early, but was 1-under over the final five holes. Charlie Guzzio – who actually works at the Kennett Square course – added a 40 for the Demons.
“Kasim is having a terrific senior year,” Murphy said. “He did not have the start he wanted and he said ‘I am going to fix it.’ And he did.”
There is still the rest of the regular season to be played, including a road trip to Penn Oaks Golf Club to take on a good West Chester Rustin squad. Then the Ches-Mont Championships, followed by districts, regionals and states. But the Longhorns aren’t shy about their lofty expectations.
“All of us want to be able to contend at states, and this kind of propels us forward,” Barrickman said.
“With our deoth, you can interchange anyone of our top eight and pretty much beat most teams in the Ches-Mont.”
Unionville 173, Kennett 202 Par 35 at Kennett Square G&CC Kennett: Narinesingh-Smith 37, Guzzio 40, Vitale 41, Pepe 42, Garazaron 42. Unionville: Barrickman 33, Keller 34, Coleman 35; Puskar 35, Tuerff 36.