Joliet Catholic nips Providence via tiebreaker
Updated: August 29, 2011 8:33PM
The rivalry between Joliet Catholic and Providence extends into golf. Joliet Catholic took advantage Monday of the familiarity of the Joliet Country Club course to win a tied match with a fifth golfer score.
The top four scores on each team resulted in a tied score at 168, so the fifth-highest scores of each team were used. Joliet Catholic’s Cole Parris edged Providence’s Matt Tucker 43-44 to give his team a one-stroke victory over nine holes.
“This was a huge win for us,’’ Hilltoppers coach Mark Hansen said. “This is our biggest rivalry, especially with golf. Their coaches and ours are good friends ,and it’s just a lot of fun to play them.’’
Brandon Newsome and Nick Cannon each shot a 41 for the Hilltoppers (6-0). Telly Korbakes shot a 40 and Nick Anderson a 41 to lead Providence. Parris suffered a two-stroke penalty on the last hole for hitting the wrong ball, but his score was still good enough to win the match.
“I felt pretty good out there and was consistent,’’ Parris said. “I didn’t have any blow-up holes. This course is the great equalizer. We get to play here quite a bit and it helps us.’’
The Celtics were disappointed with their scores and thought they should have done much better. But playing on a private course presented more of a challenge than the public courses on which most high school teams play.
“Our score was too high,’’ Korbakes said. “We have the potential to shoot so much better. This course got the best of us today. You can’t give up on a hole just because you made a poor shot. That’s what killed us today.’’
The Celtics won the match the previous two years. They won by two strokes last year and won a fifth golfer tiebreaker two years ago.
Providence head coach John Platt was away trying to qualify for the Illinois section of the PGA championship, so assistant Mike Orvis, who is familiar with the rivalry, took over the coaching duties for the day.
“John and I teach junior development over the winter,’’ Orvis said. “We work with kids from both schools and it is nice to see them develop over the years. We don’t play well on this course in general. The greens are faster than we’re used to. This course can play tricks on your mind.’’
Drew Stover and Jimmy Chigpoli had 43s for Joliet. Casey Labuda shot a 43 and Ryan Utter a 44 for Providence.
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