NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck golf team split a pair of matches to start the season.
The Greyhounds opened with a win over Wolcott, 244-262, last Wednesday before coming up short to Seymour, 215-248, the following day.
“We are still a very young team, but to start out the season with a win certainly takes a lot of pressure off,” first-year head coach Peter Kovalski said. “They are enthusiastic about the season but cautiously optimistic.”
Arbner Mehmedi was the medalist against Wolcott with a 59. Abigail Pruchnicki and Ryan Brink were right behind him with solid rounds of 61. Mia Rotatori rounded out the top four coming in with a 63.
Against Seymour, Mehmedi once again led the team with another round of 59. Pruchnicki hit a 62 with Brink coming in at 63. Rotatori finished out the top four with a round of 64.
Kovalski is using a system where the top four scorers in a preliminary round decide Naugatuck’s starting four for the match.
“The starting four have all been around the same scores,” Kovalski said. “If they work on their short game and knock a few strokes off, we could see a five- to nine-shot improvement on their scores. It’s going to take some time to work on their putting and chipping. That is where they are going to save those shots.
“I think playing beforehand to decide the starting lineup is the most fairest way to do it, and the team is very supportive of that.”
Kovalski, who is the Greyhounds’ third coach in three years, likes what he sees early on from his team.
“I think we have the capability to pull off a few wins,” he said. “There are some teams that we will face that their top three will shoot a lot lower than we will, but we will see how we progress as the season goes on.”
Like many teams across the state, the inclement weather to start the spring season hasn’t helped matters.
“The weather certainly hasn’t been cooperating,” Kovalski said. “We have some tough opponents coming up, so we are at this point a work in progress. With so many cancelations, this spring season is going to be a grind with up to three matches a week to make up for lost time.”
The Greyhounds will face three top teams in the NVL next week starting with Torrington on Monday, followed by Holy Cross on Wednesday and Watertown next Friday.
