Greenwich Wins FCIAC Boys Golf Championship

The following recap of Greenwich High School's Boys Golf Team winning the 2017 Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference Championship is by Ronald Ropiak:

GREENWICH, CT — On a day that had one or two weather moments but ended up being perfect, the Greenwich Cardinals Boys Golf team mirrored the day and ended up winning the FCIAC (Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference) Boys Golf Championship at Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course in Fairfield this past Thursday.

Decked out in the team colors, Big Red held off aggressive play from rivals New Canaan and Darien to win the county championship with an overall score of 302, besting New Canaan (312) and third-place Darien(314).

The Cards were led by senior and captain Jake Moses, who played one of his most impressive rounds of the year to score a 74. He was matched in number by sophomores Jackson Fretty and Billy Nail, and fellow sophomore Ben Ropiak rounded out the total with an 80 to complete the best four out of five format. Chris Magliocco finished with an 85 for Greenwich.

Coach Jeff Santilli was especially pleased with how the team has meshed as a unit, remarking “The boys have been working very hard this season improving their individual games and today they put it together and competed as a team. They executed when they had to, and I can't be any more proud of these guys than how I feel right now.”

“I’m especially happy for Jake. Jake is one of the hardest-working kids, and he spent a chunk of the winter working on his short game. His dedication to his own game and the team paid off today and that’s why he’s the leader of this team.”

While the 15-0-1 team celebrated capturing the FCIAC title for the first time since 2014, they know they don’t have much time to rest before the state championship. That takes place on Tuesday at Fairview Farm Golf Course in Harwinton with an early morning shotgun start.

“Coach Aberle put it best,” said Ropiak. “He told us to take 24-hours and celebrate and rest. After that, it’s back to work and to get ready for Tuesday. It’s going to be tough. The competition is strong, and anything can happen in a one-day tournament. But we’ll be ready and will do our best.”

Photo 1: From left, Coach Tom Aberle, Chris Magliocco, Jake Moses, Ben Ropiak, Billy Nail, Jackson Fretty, Coach Jeff Santilli; Photo 2: Coach Jeff Santilli accepting the team award. Photo credit: Contributed

— By Ronald Ropiak