CSGA Publications: 2014 Championship Annual | Page 45

81 ST TRI-STATE MATCHES Tumble Brook Country Club Bloomfield, Conn. October 9-10 T EAM CONNECTICUT finished Runner-Up at the 81st Tri-State Matches, winning a total of 54.5 points. Massachusetts claimed the title in decisive fashion, collecting a total of 62 points after an impressive run in the Singles Matches. . The 81st Tri-State Matches, played this year at Tumble Brook Country Club, brings together teams of twelve players from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island each fall for a two day team competition. The competition consists of an opening round of foursomes matches followed by a round of singles matches. A total of three points are available in each match. With their victory, the Bay State contingent continued to make history by capturing an 11th straight Tri-State Matches title. In its more than 80-year history, no other team has been able to claim that many titles in a row. With its most recent victory, Massachusetts now lays claim to 32 TriState Matches titles and is narrowing the gap with Connecticut (39), which still leads the race for overall titles. Connecticut 54.5 Points The Massachusetts team rallied from a 1.5-point deficit following the foursome matches on Thursday to win the title by 7.5 points over Connecticut. Massachusetts finished with 62 points, while Rhode Island came in third with 45.5 points. Leading the charge by capturing the maximum six points on Friday in his singles match was Alex Stimpson (Woods Hole GC). Stimpson, who is a two-time Massachusetts FourBall Champion, dominated in his singles match against Benjamin Day (CT) and Dr. George Pirie (RI). One day earlier, Stimpson combined with John Kelly (Twin Hills CC) to capture 5.5 out of a possible six points in their foursome match. As a result, Stimpson finished as the top Bay State point getter this year. Leading the way for Team Connecticut was Jim Romaniello, who finished with a total of eleven points. Dave Szewczul and Mark Vasington finished with 10 and 9.5 points, respectively. Massachusetts 62 Points Rhode Island 45.5 Points Threesomes Match Play Connecticut Massachusetts Rhode Island Szewczul-Vasington 4 Reycroft-Houghton 3.5 McNally-Goryl 1.5 Romaniello-Torza 5 Smith-Carter 3.5 Acciardo-McLane 0.5 Hrostek-Zagaski 2.5 Clapp-Higgins 1.5 Blaser-Quigley 5 Dietz-Violet 2.5 Burke-Riley 3.5 Hoffman-Pelletier 3 Owens-Day 5.5 Jeffers-Guthrie 2 Hamilton-Pirie 1.5 Foster-Ballo 1.5 Kelly-Stimpson 5.5 Grossguth-Lukowicz 2 Singles Match Play Connecticut Bill Torza Dave Szewczul Jim Romaniello Mark Vasington Mike Zagaski Chet Hrostek Brent Dietz Kevin Foster Benjamin Day Addison Owens Peter Ballo Top to Bottom: Mike Zagaski and Chet Hrostek react after a long birdie putt on the 5th hole; Jim Romaniello was Rob Violet 0.5 6 6 5.5 1 2.5 5 4.5 2 0.5 0 0 Massachusetts Don Reycroft Dave Houghton Bruce Carter Kevin Smith Doug Clapp Jordan Burke Ryan Riley John Kelly Alex Stimpson Alex Jeffers J.C. Guthrie Brian Higgins 3 2.5 2.5 3.5 5.5 5.5 1 1.5 6 3 5.5 3 Rhode Island Dave McNally Tom Goryl Tom Acciardo Gary McLane Paul Quigley Mike Hamilton Jamie Lukowicz Rob Grossguth Dr. George Pirie Ryan Pelletier Kyle Hoffman Kevin Blaser 5.5 0.5 0.5 0 2.5 1 3 3 1 5.5 3.5 6 Connecticut’s top point-getter; Mark Vasington earned 9.5 points in his debut at the Tri-State Matches. www.csgalinks.org Connecticut State Golf Association 2