Team effort captures title for Lyons

Updated: September 10, 2011 11:40PM

Lyons boys golf coach Brian Kopecky knows all too well how important playing well come regionals is.

After all, the Lions missed advancing to sectionals as a team by a mere one stroke.

But after winning Saturday’s 30-team Batavia Invitational at Fox Valley Golf Course, the Lions look to be preparing for the postseason with vigor this fall.

Lyons shot a 302 to tie the host Bulldogs, winning the title on a fifth-card tiebreaker. The win gives the Lions four invitational wins already this season, also winning at Oak Park-River Forest, Addison Trail and Fenton.

“We want to build on this,” Kopecky said. “You have to have your four best players playing their best at the end. If you have one bad day, that’s what happened to us last year, we got beat by a shot and didn’t move on. That’s the nature of the beast. But we’re really on a roll right now.”

Lyons had two players among the five in the field that fired a two-over 74 Saturday. Charlie Netzel and Dan Hudson out of the No. 4 slot did the honors. Netzel was sixth and Hudson 10th based on scorecard playoffs. Ryan Hudson and Jack Ferguson each shot 77 for Lyons.

Batavia was the surprise of the field, after posting nine-hole scores of over 160 in Upstate Eight River losses to Geneva and St. Charles East recently. Senior Matt Milauskas led the way, tying with two others with an even-par 72 after struggling earlier in the season.

“I wouldn’t have thought that 302 would be a tie for first, not with the quality of the field and the conditions,” Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. “I’m happy. I would have taken a 302 even if we finished sixth. That’s a good score for us. We’re trying to turn the corner a little bit. We have not been playing well lately.”

Dan Wojtak of Oak Park-River Forest wound up snagging medalist honors after a scorecard playoff with his 72. That helped the Huskies take fourth with a 305.

“We played pretty well as a team,” Wojtak said. “We’re pretty consistent. We have enough depth where if people play poorly, we can still shoot well.”

The other 72 in the field came from WW South senior Tee-K Kelly, who committed to Ohio State earlier in the week. He helped the Tigers to a third-place finish with a 305.

“I started the day pretty rough,” Kelly said. “I was four over through seven. After that, I kind of took a different mental approach and birdied four of the next five holes (12, 14, 15 and 16). I just parred in from there. It was an up-and-down day.”

Naperville North placed fifth with a 307 behind 75s from Raymond Knoll and Mike Doherty. Kyle Jacobs from St. Charles East and Marmion’s Zach Woytych each shot 73.

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