Cape Cod Sports

Tobey wins Back Office Pro-Am at Wianno

Bay Pointe pro fires 3-under-par 67
Moves ahead in Wessner Points battle with Yeomans

By Geoff Converse

OSTERVILLE - When Bay Pointe Country Club head pro Tom Tobey is on his game, it makes people think that he should be playing in a PGA Tour qualifying event rather than a Cape Cod Chapter of the New England PGA Pro-Am.

Earlier this week saw one of those days as Tobey blistered the Wianno Golf Club on Tuesday for a 3-under-par 67, winning the Back Office Associates Pro-Am by an eye-popping five shots over runners-up Tom Rooney of LeBaron Hills and Kittansett's Steve Demmer.

Tobey attacked the 6,022-yard layout from the start, birdying his first hole (the 12th as the event used a shotgun start.) However, he had a couple of hiccups on the 18th and again on the first to drop back to 1-over-par before he heated up with five birdies in seven holes (Numbers 4 through 11) and was within one more birdie of tying the competitive course record of 65 that has stood since 1954. However, he bogeyed his final hole to finish at 67.

"There were some holes where I really grinded out there," Tobey said. "I love coming here in spite of not always doing well. This is a golf course where you always think you can score low. But, somehow, it jumps up and bites you and you realize it's not that easy to score here, in spite of it being in unbelievably good shape and the greens rolling pure."

Tobey has been on fire most of this fall in chapter and New England Section events. His win yesterday, coupled with Greg Yeomans finishing tied for 12th place, enabled the Bay Pointe head pro to surge ahead in the Wessner Points battle to determine the Chapter's Player of the Year.

Tobey holds a slim 2½-point edge on Yeomans with next Tuesday's Pro-Am event at Cranberry Valley the final points event on the schedule. This is the tightest Wessner Points battle the chapter has seen in over seven years.

There was a tie for fourth after both Louie Rivers of Foxborough Country Club (and formerly an assistant at Hyannisport) and Cape Cod National's Matt Walsh each posted a 73.

"This is a fun course to play, especially when we are fortunate enough to have a great weather day like today," Demmer said of his 72. "I putted well - who wouldn't on these great greens - and it was a good day for me."

Rooney, who works at LeBaron Hills, site of this year's Chapter Championship, started with a birdie, but struggled on the next three holes going 5-over-par before settling down and getting into a good groove.

"This is the first time I've seen this course," Rooney said. "It's magnificent. The greens were excellent."

Rooney rebounded from his rough stretch with a four hole string where he made three birdies to bring himself back to 2-over-par for the day.

Walsh logged his best round since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the spring. He started playing golf again in late summer.

"This is the first round I've had below 80 since I hurt the Achilles," he said. "I guess I can take my clubs off eBay now that I proved I can play a little bit."

In team play, Walsh and his amateur partners Hugh Walsh (his father), Jeff Banta and Art Anderson Jr. topped the gross score division with a 63. In net play, Jay Wick of Old Sandwich Golf Club and his partners Doug Mayo, Mike Walker and Mike Marooney (a former Oyster Harbors assistant and now back in the amateur fold), blistered the layout for a 59.

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Dugas wins PGA Island Classic

Dugas storms way to Island Classic victory
Shoots 6 under par at two-day event at Sankaty Head

By Geoff Converse

NANTUCKET - Eric Dugas, an assistant at Old Sandwich Golf Club in Manomet, stormed the island of Nantucket and captured the annual two-day Cape Cod Chapter of the New England PGA Island Classic late last week, shooting a 6-under-par 138.

He finished three shots better than runner up Tom Tobey of Bay Pointe Country Club, the current leader in the battle to win the Wessner Award accumulating the most points throughout the chapter schedule.

Finishing third in the two-day event that is played on the classic Sankaty Head Golf Club seaside links was Rusty Gunnarson of Rochester Golf Course, last year's Wessner Award winner. Gunnarson posted a 145 over the two rounds on the layout.

Hyannisport's Mike Haberl was alone in fourth place at 146, one stroke better than host pro Mark Heartfield.

Dugas captured both days' events, winning the opening day with a 5-under-par 67 - one better than Tobey's 68 - and the second round saw him with the only sub-par round of the day, a 1-under-par 71.

Dugas, who played on the Nauset Regional High School Team that captured the state crown in 1999, has played in very few chapter tournaments. Otherwise he might be battling for the Wessner honor himself.

On Nantucket, Dugas captured both days' events, winning the opening day with a 5-under-par 67 - one better than Tobey's 68 - and the second round saw him with the only sub-par round of the day, a 1-under-par 71. Tobey was the only other golfer to finish the two rounds under par (-3).

With his two second-place finishes, Tobey stretched his lead in the Wessner points race, which determines the chapter player of the year, over Greg Yeomans, who is alone in second place. Tobey leads 114.5-to-111.

In team play, Dugas again figured in the top spot in gross score as he and teammates Chuck Dockendorff, Mike Marooney and John Stanton finished third the first day, captured the second day's competition and collected the overall prize with a two-day total of 131.

The net division was considerably tighter with three teams tying for the overall champion.
Hyannis Golf Club's Mike Ghelfi, the director of golf for the Town of Barnstable, and his team of John Silvia III, Dana Savoie and Rick Rainville finished at 127.

Tying them at the top spot were the teams of Dan Hart of the Golf Club at Cape Cod and his amateur partners Robert Todd, Gary Hollick and Ryan O'Rourke, and longtime Cape resident and teacher Bob Quirk out of the Harmon Club and his partners Graham Oneashian, Pat Scanlon and Norm Boutin.

Next up on the chapter slate is its annual meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20 at the Hyannis Golf Club. That will be followed by a Pro-Pro blind draw event.

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Yeomans wins Pro-Senior

Yeomans wins Pro-Senior at Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds

 By Geoff Converse

“If I could have played the par-5s better, I could have put up a pretty good number. That’s usually where I can get some birdies, but not today.” Greg was a three-year captain of the golf team at the University of Connecticut and was the New England Player of the year in 1994. 

Greg Yeomans (on right), of The Bay Club, playing the Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds Golf Course for the first time, didn’t let his lack of course knowledge get in the way of the day’s best round at the annual BackOffice Associates Pro-Senior Championship.

Yeomans shot an even-par 71 over the well-manicured 6,735-yard Marstons Mills layout in the championship, which opened the fall schedule of the Cape Cod Chapter of the New England PGA.

Tied for second at one-over-par 72 were Mick Herron of Bay Pointe Country Club and Ballymeade Country Club’s Craig Garris. Jim Knowles of Highland Links was fourth after shooting a 73 and alone in fifth after a 74 was Tom Tobey of Bay Pointe, last week’s winner of the Chapter Championship.

“Not because I had a decent round, but this is a really fun golf course that was in tremendous condition,” Yeomans said. “I didn’t know what to expect when I got here, but this was a real treat. It rewards you for good shots and penalizes you for bad ones.”

Yeomans logged four birdies during his round and four bogeys. Three of those bogeys were on par-5 holes.

“If I could have played the par-5s better, I could have put up a pretty good number,” Yeomans said. “That’s usually where I can get some birdies, but not today.”

Herron’s 1-over round featured a number of “close-but-no-cigar” putts that failed to fall. “I burned a lot of edges out there,” Herron said. “I hit the ball well, but the greens killed me.”
Garris also had his issues putting, which cost him a chance for the win.

“I was 2-under after 11 holes,” Garris explained. ” Then I bogeyed four of the last seven holes.  I stink. I’ll bet you I had no less than 40 putts out there. I was flagging the pins all day, but missed no less than five birdie putts inside 10 feet.”

Next up: The Sankaty Head Gold Club on Nantucket on October 7 and 8.

For Knowles, it was a rare appearance in a chapter event  in which he played like someone who should be battling for Player of the Year honors.

“I hit the ball pretty well,” Knowles said.  “I made a lot of pars but I missed too many puts for me to have a good scoring round. But, I’ll take a 73. No complaints.”

For Tobey it was a round where he failed to make key puts. “I just couldn’t convert the putts I needed to,” he said.

In team play, Bob Chase of Quashnet Valley and his amateur partners Fred Hazelton, Matt Dupuy and Fred Walker, who shot the low round of the day among the amateurs (72), captured the team gross honor shooting a 63.

The winning net team was Bob Giusti of the Country Club of Halifax and his amateur partners Paul Nisby, Jack Drysdale and Bill Marginson. They combined for a 59.

Next up on the Chapter schedule is the popular two-day pro-am at Sankaty Head Golf Club on Oct. 7 and 8 on Nantucket.

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A time for local golf tournaments

Amateurs take Cape Cod Cup; Tobey wins Cape PGA Championship

 Pro-Senior tourney up Thursday at Olde Barnstable

By Geoff Converse

The popular Pro-Senior Championship, set for Thursday at Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds on right in Marstons Mills, is the next big competition on the local golf tournament slate.

The Pro-Senior comes in the wake of the Cape Cod Cup at New Seabury and the Championship of the Cape Cod Chapter of the New England PGA at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville.

The Cape Cod Cup, held Sunday on the Ocean Course at New Seabury, showed what is starting to be a pattern: the team that loses the Cup the previous year avenges that defeat by capturing the cup the following year.

This time around, it was the amateurs' turn to win and they accommodated the pattern by toppling the professionals in the 22nd edition of the competition, 13-8.

With Sunday's win, the amateurs notched their 11th win against nine losses. There have been two ties.

For the sixth straight year of the match-play event, the team that lost the previous year rallied to win the event, which promotes competition and camaraderie among area amateur and pro golfers.

The match was not decided until the final pairing finished with the amateur tandem from Pinehills, Herb Aikens and Rick Cunha, sweeping all three points from the pro team of Mark O'Brien of Captains and host pro Brendan Reilly.

"We played really well," Aikens said after competing in his third Cape Cod Cup. "We had four birdies out there and never really got into serious trouble."

"We played really well. We had four birdies out there and never really got into serious trouble."
                                  - Herb Aiken

"It would have been nice if I could have helped Brendan more," said O'Brien of their loss. "I think I only helped him on one hole. It's too bad because he played pretty well. I can't believe I didn't make a birdie the entire round."

Teams get points by winning the front nine, the back nine and the overall match.

The long-time amateur duo of Kevin Carey and Joe Walker of Dennis Pines collected all three points in the match against the pro tandem of John Boniface of the Ridge Club and Cranberry Valley's Joe McNulty. It was the opening tilt of the day and set the tone for the amateurs.
Carey and Walker, the five-time Seagulls Fourball champions, won the front nine 3-up, took the back side 1-up and the overall match, 4-up.

"It's key for us to make sure we don't give anything away," said Walker. "We didn't have any bogeys and that's important in a match like this."

"We didn't do anything stupid out there," Carey added. "We got it up and down when we had to. We made five birdies and the putts were falling for us."

Last week, Tom Tobey was the story at the Cape Cod Chapter's championship, held at the challenging LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville.

Tobey, the head pro at Bay Pointe Country Club, set the bar at a high level in the championship's morning round. That performance eventually led to his cruising to the win in the 36-hole event.

He grabbed a 5-shot lead in the morning with the day's lone sub-par round, shooting a 2-under 70. He also posted the afternoon's low round in blustery conditions, a 73, for a 1-under-par 143 total to breeze to a nine-shot victory. It is Tobey's second Titleist Chapter Championship in three years.

Finishing second was Country Club of Halifax pro Bob Giusti, who posted a 152. Giusti also captured the Senior Division. Hyannisport's Mike Haberl was third at 154, one shot better than fourth-place finisher, host pro Tom Rooney. Rounding out the top five was Greg Yeomans of The Bay Club, who came in a 156.

In the Assistants Division, LeBaron Hills' Rob Bradley breezed to victory with a 157.

Conditions were difficult at the 6,800-yard layout, a quality course that is one of the region's best-kept secrets. The gusty wind wreaked havoc on the 24-player field and was directly responsible for the high scores. The stiff breezes also wore down the players, both physically and mentally, especially in the afternoon round.

"I am absolutely beat," a weary Giusti said upon finishing. "My body isn't used to playing 36 holes of competitive golf in one day. And when you add in the grind of playing in that wind, it makes it even more grueling."

Everyone was affected except Tobey, who made the event seem like a walk in the park.

Tobey has been on fire lately, finally getting his game to where he wants it in all aspects - from driving the ball long and in play to a new putting stroke that gives him a newfound confidence on the greens no matter how long a putt might be.

Tom Tobey has been on fire lately, finally getting his game to where he wants it in all aspects.

Tobey came into the championship on a roll, having finished second in the New England Section Championship two weeks ago and having hit the ball well last week in the New England Open. He never really gave any player in the field yesterday a reason to think he was not going to win the Chapter Championship.

"The key for me was keeping the ball away from trouble and on shots to the green, just aiming for the fat part of the green and letting my putter do the rest," Tobey explained. "I played it pretty safe most of the day in these conditions. The only time I ever really attacked the greens was on the par 5 holes.

"Shooting par out there today was a good score for anyone," he added. "I like the course. There is something about playing courses that are set up tough that seem to bring out the best in me. Today happened to be one of those days."

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Bourne Advances to MIAA South Sectional Semi-Finals with Win Against Case

3-0 Win Propels Lady Canalmen into South Semis

With a strong and balanced approach, Bourne High School's Lady Canalmen shut out the squad from Joseph Case High School 3-0 in MIAA South Sectional quarterfinal action. Junior Meghan Donovan had 8 kills and sophomores Hannah Gasper and Bethany Ashworth had 6 kills each.

 In Game 1, Bourne took the lead mid-way and never looked back finishing 25-16 with some strong backcourt play by co-captain Courtney Faria and Bethany Ashworth. Faria came up with an amazing 32 digs throughout the match and Ashworth pulled out 15. Junior Audrey Clark added 10 digs in the match.

Game 2 was Case's best chance to win with the Cardinals jumping out to a 22-11 lead at one point. The Lady Canalmen hung tough, tying the game up at 23-23 and going on to win 28-26.

Bourne took Game 3 with solid teamwork. Backcourt digs, blocks, and service aces carried the Lady Canalmen to a  25-22 win over the Cardinals and sets up a semi-final match against Bishop Feehan @ 7PM Thursday night in Attleboro.

text and photos/Daniel W. Webb 

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MMA loses heartbreaker to Bridgewater State in 29th Cranberry Bowl

*Storm Pics Below  . . .

Falmouth's Steve Clark Leads Bears to 38-31 Cranberry Bowl victory over Bucs

Buzzards Bay - Quarterback Steven Clark of East Falmouth passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 148 yards with two more touchdowns to lead the visiting Bears of Bridgewater State over the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Division III NCAA football action at Ellis Field this past Sunday. The Bears offense racked up a massive 530 yards and the Buccaneers managed 382 yards in the loss.
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 Summary

The Buccaneers Colin Teehan scored first, early in the 1st quarter, on a pass from QB Joe DeFrank. Later that period Bears QB Steve Clark scampered in from the 18 to even the score at 7-7. MMA came back downfield two drives later and freshman running back Douglas Dyke scored on an end-around from the 1 yard line to round out 1st quarter scoring.

Tha MMA defense stopped several Bridgewater State drives in the second quarter but finally allowed the Bears into the end zone when QB Steve Clark connected with Chris Joyce for an 8 yard touchdown pass tying the contest at 14.

The 3rd quarter was all Bridgewater State with Steve Clark racing 46 yards for his 2nd rushing TD and Dave Leombruno kicking a 26 yard FG.

The 4th quarter was the most exciting with the two teams combining for 31 points. Jake Bickley kicked a 27 yard FG for the Bucs, bringing them within a touchdown of the Bears. Minutes later, Bucs running back Doug Dyke scored from the 9 yard line to tie the game at 24 all. Bridgewater upped the ante with Chris Russell's 2 yard TD run with 3:23 left. The Bucs went into their two-minute offense and Doug Dyke scored his 3rd TD of the day on 26 yard sweep. With the game tied at 31-31, Bridgewater State's Steve Clark executed a drive getting the Bears to MMA 8 yard line. With 9 seconds on the clock, Clark hit Joyce in the left corner of the end zone for the game winning touchdown.

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QB Joe DeFrank was 17-38 with 2 interceptions and 205 yards in the passing department for the Bucs. Doug Dyke ran for 136 yards and three TD's. Both Ryan Howley and Jim Erlwein rang up 9 tackles for MMA. Bucs sophomore Kevin McCarthy had 71 yards in kick-off returns including a 52 yarder. MMA finishes up their season with a 3-7 overall record.

Bridgewater State quarterback Steven Clark was presented with the Lee Harrington Award for being named the game's Most Valuable Player. The Bears record goes to 6-3 overall.

text and photos/Daniel W. Webb

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****NOTE****PICTURES BELOW****  Yeah, yeah, I know this is two day old, but we had a crazy hurricane this weekend and my town(Sandwich) was slammed. No power Friday night or Saturday night. Didn't come back on until 4:30pm Sunday.. too late for the Pats.. we had already gone to the BBC where a hundred other displaced fans were trying to see the game... My yard was ground zero for an 90' white oak and a half a dozen HUGE limbs, including one that landed on the corner of the house and ripped off the gutter. Town Neck and two other beachfront areas in town were asked to evacuate!!     Things are getting back to normal and the MIAA playoffs are moving into the quarterfinals..... Look for Bourne volleyball later tonight . .  (dww)

   My House, Burbank St., Sandwich

   Route 6A @ Merchants Square, Sandwich @ the height of the storm

   Town Neck under siege, 4:30pm Sat.

CERT team going home to home on Town Neck, asking for a voluntary evacuation

 photos/Daniel W. Webb

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Falmouth Field Hockey Advances to Division 1 South Quarterfinals with 1-0 Win over Hingham

Clippers Sink Hingham 1-0 in MIAA 1st Round Action

Falmouth - The 4th seeded Falmouth High School Clippers beat visiting Hingham High School Wednesday, 1-0,  in MIAA South Sectional field hockey tournament 1st round action. The Clippers (16-0-3) dominated the 13th seeded Harborwomen even though the final score indicates a much closer contest.

The Clipper front line led by senior tri-captain Hilary Burns and the fiesty sophomore Virgynia Muma kept Hingham busy throughout the 1st period. Their aggressive play forced 6 penalty corners and sent 3 strong shots to the net, all stopped by Hingham goalkeeper Meghan Gallagher. Despite the losing effort, Gallagher came up big for Hingham with 9 saves total for the game.

After the half, Falmouth continued their relentless attack on the Hingham circle. The Clippers were awarded 10 penalty corners in the final period and finally, @ 4:12 in the period, Falmouth forward Corey Rigby found the backstop on a pass from Hilary Burns. The Clippers went up 1-0 and held on for the final 4 minutes to win the game.

Hingham mangaged 2 penalty corners in the 2nd period, both nearly leading to scores. Clipper tri-captain, senior Shayna Abbott anchored the Falmouth defense and goalkeeper Shaylyn Callahan came up with 3 big saves to keep Hingham off of the scoreboard.

Falmouth advances to the quarterfinals and will play Wellesley @ 1:00pm Sunday at Falmouth High School

text and photos/Daniel W. Webb

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D-Y Field Hockey Closes Out Season with 0-1 Tournament Loss to Dartmouth

D-Y Field Hockey Loses Close Match In MIAA Prelims

South Yarmouth - Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School's varsity field hockey team ended their season today with a 0-1 loss to the visiting 18th seeded Dartmouth High School squad in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional tournament. The contest was evenly matched with both sides controlling the ball well.

15th seeded D-Y held a slight advantage through the 1st period with 5 penalty corners to Dartmouth's two. Seniors Jen Pimental and Mikala Talbolt were both strong on the front line for D-Y.  Dartmouth's defense was anchored by great play from juniors Katie Miller and Isabelle Cassell.

After the half, with the game knotted at zero, the Lady Indians of Dartmouth came out ready to play and began to pressure the D-Y defense. Shortly into the 2nd period, Dartmouth senior forward Hope LaBelle scooped up a loose ball in the D-Y circle and drove to the goal and shot one past the Dolphin's keeper Ashley Hallman. This would prove to be the winning goal as Dartmouth kept D-Y from scoring for the remainder of the period.

D-Y finishes up 7-6-6 for the season while Dartmouth's record goes to 6-6-5. Dartmouth advances to the 1st round of the tournament and will play  2nd seed Notre Dame Academy in Hingham @ 2:30pm on Friday.

With D-Y's exit, three Cape Cod teams remain in MIAA Division 1 South Sectionals. Sandwich(9) is away against Somerset(8) @ 2:30pm Friday. Barnstable(7) plays Duxbury(10) at home Thursday @ 2:30pm. Falmouth(4) takes on Hingham(13) @ 2:30 pm Thursday @ FHS. For updates check the MIAA official brackets:

http://miaa.statebrackets.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=486

 text and photos/Daniel W. Webb

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Bourne girl's soccer uses balanced attack to best Seekonk 5-2

Lady Canalmen Stymie Seekonk

Bourne - The Lady Canalmen of Bourne High School defeated the Lady Warriors of Seekonk High School by a score of 5-2 in action Tuesday at Coady Field. The BHS attack was led by a pair of goals each from senior Anna Schrader and junior Ally Perry. Rounding out the scoring for Bourne was senior captain Jessica Perry, who scored once in the 1st period.

Seekonk struck first, with Vanessa Senecal scoring early in the 1st period on an assist from Jordan Spina. Spina herself would score near the end of the 1st period on an assist from Aneesa Bay.

After the break, the Lady Canalmen's defense got stingy and keeper Courtney Donovan made several key saves to blank Seekonk in the 2nd period.

The win brings Bourne's record to 10-4-4. They have qualified for the MIAA South Sectional tournament. Pairings should be out Wednesday.

Look to the MIAA website for updated tournament info:    http://www.miaa.net 

(text and photos/Daniel W. Webb) 

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Cape Cod Academy bests Sturgis Charter 6-0 in Girls Soccer

Hickman Hat Trick Leads Seahawks over Sturgis

Osterville - Cape Cod Academy used a balanced attack to roll over Sturgis Charter Public School by a score of 6-0 in varsity girls soccer action Wednesday at Seapuit Field on the CCA campus in Osterville. CCA striker Kendra Hickman netted a hat trick to lead the Seahawks scoring.

Sturgis kept things close in the 1st period with good defensive play from their backfield including strong efforts by Stephanie Fratus and Tachelle Allen. CCA's Hickman scored twice in the period, giving the Seahawks a 2-0 advantage at the half.

After the break, CCA went on the offensive with several flurries around the Sturgis goal until co-captain Amani El Serahwey finally scored from the left side. This was followed quickly by Hickman's third goal, a tap-in on an assist from Abby Doyle. Doyle herself scored on a solo breakaway a few minutes later and Caroline Welch capped off the Seahawks scoring with a strike from the right wing.

Sturgis players Nicole Laperriere and Hannah Fayne were outstanding in the loss, while Cape Cod Academy middies Kelsey Wheeler and Lacie Michaelson played well for their squad. Sturgis remains winless despite the effort. CCA has qualified for the MIAA Division 3 South Sectionals and the win brings their record to 9-4-1 overall.

(text and photos/Daniel W. Webb) 

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