PVCs next for Wildcats

14 years ago

PVCs next for Wildcats

By Joseph Cyr

Sports Editor

    PRESQUE ISLE — The Presque Isle golf team appears to be headed in the right direction as the season comes to a close. The Wildcats have had strong showings in recent outings and could make a serious postseason push.
    “Coming into the season, we had four of our top five golfers returning, so my expectations were high,” Wildcat golf coach Jim York said. “In some ways the team is meeting my expectations and in some ways they aren’t.” 

    Junior Evan Waddell has been the leading golfer for the Wildcats this season, followed, in order, by seniors Travis Dyer and Alex Tuttle, sophomore Adam Flynn and senior Jordan Hallett. Waddell, Dyer, Tuttle and Hallett were also among the top five golfers last year.
    The remaining 2010 roster features senior Oliver Zubrick; juniors Cody Merrill, Matt Freeman, Nate Sperrey, Matt Sullivan and Nick Barclay; sophomore Gabe Player; and freshmen Karson Eaton, Carter Lapointe and Taylor Willey. Marie Waddell is the team’s assistant coach.
    The Wildcats lost Keenan Eaton, one of the team’s top golfers a year ago, to graduation.
    “Right now our top five are pretty secure, although we do have some Nos. 6-7 guys who are swinging well too,” York said. “The top five guys are all within a few strokes of each other.”
    York, who is in his fifth season with the Wildcats, said Tuttle has been the most improved player over the years. As a freshman, Tuttle shot in the low 50s and is now shooting in the low 40s. Dyer, the team’s best long-ball hitter, has also grown considerably during his tenure with the team.
    The most surprising golfer has been Flynn, a left-handed hockey player for the Wildcats, whose stroke resembles a hockey slap shot.
    “Adam played all summer and he cares a lot about the game,” York said. “He has really stepped up as a sophomore.”
    Consistency has been the biggest issue for the Wildcats, according to coach York.
    “We can go out and shoot a 176 and then go out and shoot a 156,” he said. “The best way to sum it up is we have literally been playing to the level of our competition. We always qualify [for states], we always do well, but the consistency has never been there in all my years here.”
    York said, because of the economy, many of his young golfers had difficulty finding the time, or the money, to get on the golf course. Because of this fact, some of the younger golfers have had to play catch-up in terms of getting onto the links.
    “We’re trying not to put too much pressure on them, because they are kids, but I am also not one to be soft,” York said. “Golf is more of a mind game than any other sport. You have to be careful not to let one bad shot stick with you through an entire match.”