Golf Fells Two Foes in Double Match
Last weekend the Exeter golf team faced one of its toughest challenges yet, a double match against Loomis and Tabor—two consistently strong teams. After coming off a 10-0 win last Wednesday, the team was confident going into the match and found themselves shooting well once again, crushing the scoreboards with a total of 383 shots in comparison to Tabor’s 392 and Loomis’s 396.
The match started with a two and a half hour drive out to Bloomfield, Connecticut. While the team was greeted by strong winds and bumpy greens, according to upper Alexandra Merullo, it stayed confident after starting the season with a 2-0 record and worked hard to make it 4-0.
“It’s never good to put pressure on yourself. With golf you just have to go play, hope for the best and remain calm the whole time. We definitely have the capability of doing that.”
“We had to adapt to the conditions,” she said. “But it went really well out there. We stuck to low shots and compromised score to avoid the winds, and we did our best to putt over the bumpy greens.”
One of the biggest components of the team’s success was the great support each player provided toward each other. After shooting even for the first half of the course, prep Daulet Tuleubayev started to find himself struggling in the back nine. However, while he was close to giving up hope on the round, one of his fellow teammates gave him a grin and a high-five, motivating him to hold his concentration.
“That is what I think is so amazing about playing on this golf team,” Tuleubayev said. “Everyone feels like one unit and supports everyone else. I think our team atmosphere really helped me finish the round strong.”
Even the opposing teams showed great respect and encouragement toward Exeter. At the beginning of the match, Tuleubayev and his group remained relatively quiet. However, after a few holes, Tuleubayev soon discovered himself and one of his competitors were both close to the same player on Exeter’s team. The two quickly bonded and continuously encouraged each other throughout the match with cheers and compliments.
Merullo had a similar experience as Tuleubayev, noticing the same sportsmanship in most of her competitors. According to her, while a athlete from Tabor felt a bit cold, a player from Loomis was “very welcoming and had a great attitude.”
“I thought the kid from Loomis had very impressive sportsmanship,” Merullo continued. “He followed all the rules, made small talk, complimented good shots, gave tips on course management and even said not to worry about scores because it was a beautiful day, [just] tough conditions. I was very impressed.”
After the exciting win, the team hopes to carry their undefeated record into the Andover Invitational next Saturday. The invitation is an off-the-record tournament hosted by Andover and includes a total of eight teams. After struggling last year during this tournament, many players, such as lower Charlie Dubiel, hope to utilize both their past experience and skilled new players to produce good results.
While Dubiel is looking forward to the upcoming match, he also stressed the importance of straying away from overconfidence. He plans to just “try his best and see what happens.”
“While we should definitely be confident after our great start to the season, we aren't going to go there thinking we are the best team,” he said. “It’s never good to put pressure on yourself. With golf you just have to go play, hope for the best and remain calm the whole time. We definitely have the capability of doing that.”