Blazers finish strong

OCT. 13, POOLESVILLE GOLF COURSE—
The Golf team finished their season today at the County Scramble, shooting two under par as a team. The County Scramble did not impact their final record, which was 8-9-1.

Only four of the starting six golfers played in the scramble due to an unusual format. The four-man team consisted of sophomore John Conroy, junior Danny Gillen, senior Bill McManigle, and senior Neal Vasilak.

Each of the four golfers teed off from the same spot and the best shot was taken. This cycle was repeated until the ball ended up in the hole. The team shot seven pars and two birdies. These low team scores were a result of the unusual format, which puts all the best shots together.

The Scramble included 12 teams from all over the county, and the top score for the day was five under par. The Blazers could have come closer to this score if they made their putts. "We probably would have had a better score if we sank the 10 to 15 foot putts," said McManigle.

Regardless, McManigle believed the team finished the season with a strong performance. "[We had] a good finish and a good end to the year," said McManigle.

Overall, the golf team did not meet expectations for this season. "I don't think we played up to our potential [this season]," stated McManigle.

Last season, Blair was one of the better teams in the county and moved up from the Kohut to the Kyle Division. The team was looking forward to continue their success. "[We] definitely expected more difficult competition, but expected to finish at 500. Unfortunately, we did not do that," claimed Gillen.

Gillen said inconsistent playing prevented Blair from being successful this season. "We were pretty inconsistent and had to rely too much on the bottom of the lineup," said Gillen. The bottom of the lineup is the five and six spots of the starting six.

Next season the team will move back down to the Kohut division. McManigle believed this move will be short lived. "[I am] confident that in the future we will move up again," said McManigle.

The team will lose many of their top players to graduation this year. Seniors Vasilak, McManigle and Neil Hofman will graduate, leaving a large void to fill. "We are losing our top players, so we are hoping we have a good class of freshmen [next year]," said Gillen.