Another State Title Last Week For High School Golf Team

While the boys lacrosse victory against Fairfield Prep on Saturday is garnering most of the attention, Ridgefield recently won another state championship in the spring season.

On June 6 at the Timberlin Golf Club in Kensington, the Tigers' boys golf team captured the Division I crown. It was only Ridgefield's second golf state title in school history and the first since 1997.

Ridgefield posted a team score of 307 for a four-stroke victory over runner-up Greenwich. Staples and Farmington tied for third at 312.

Individually, Ridgefield junior Corey Birch and senior Dan Myers carded 74s to tie for fifth, two strokes behind medalist Stephen Pastore of Greenwich.

Hamden's Patrick Lynch, South Windsor's Clark Robinson and Farmington's Zach Zabach tied for second at 73.

Ridgefield senior Michael Tessler, the Tigers' No.5 player, also broke 80 (79) while senior Brady Garrett and junior Rory Mazur shot 80 and 81, respectively. 

Birch and Myers earned All-State honors for their top-five finishes.

The victory for Ridgefield was considered something of a surprise because the Tigers entered the tournament seeded fifth and finished fourth in the FCIAC tournament behind New Canaan, Greenwich and Staples.

In the FCIAC competition, Ridgefield posted a team score of 326, finishing a distant 26 strokes behind champion New Canaan.

Still, the Tigers had potential. During the regular season, they defeated Staples, which had won the previous two Division I titles, and Farmington, last year's runner-up. 

Another highlight during the regular season was a win over perennial state power Fairfield Prep. The Tigers started 11-0 before finishing 18-3 in dual matches. The losses came to Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan.