The Saline Reporter
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Hornets still perfect after challenges
After winning quad on tiebreaker, Saline takes two-day tourney title
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 1, 2008
Looking at the schedule, the Saline boys' golf team might have thought that if its two-season win streak was going to come within a stroke of ending last week, it would have happened at the prestigious two-day Traverse City Invitational rather than a Southeastern Conference quad meet on their home course of Brookside.
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But that wasn't the way it worked out. The Hornets shot an 18-hole season-low of 289 Friday on their way to winning the Traverse tournament by seven strokes Saturday, but not until after Bedford had tied Saline at 150 in Wednesday's quad and forced the meet into a No. 5 golfer tiebreak.
With Peter Spittler's 42 for Saline besting the 47 from Bedford's Matt Gautheir, the Hornets survived with their streak intact.
"It's harder to play nine holes," Saline head coach Carol Melcher said. "You can't make up for mistakes. If all your guys slip a little at the same time, you can get in trouble. That's kind of what happened."
The Hornets were four strokes behind after the No. 1 and No. 2 golfers were in the clubhouse, with Saline's Matt Paterini and Phil Gieseker each having shot 39's and Bedford's players totaling 74.
But Hornet No. 3 Nick Campbell and No. 4 Nick Areddy each shot 36's, including a last-hole chip-in from Areddy, to tie the Mules at 150.
"That's team golf," Melcher said. "We know that any of our top four or five guys can go low on any given day. That's why it works."
The Hornets still had to sweat out Spittler's final hole, where a shot well beyond the green, Melcher said, "almost hit me" and led to a seven, but the sophomore had already done enough to earn the win.
Things returned to normal for the Hornets in Traverse Friday and Saturday. Despite playing in what Melcher said was the "most competitive field in the state," the Hornets led by five clear strokes after Day 1 and overcame blustery and cold conditions on Day 2 to take the title by seven strokes over runner-up Grand Blanc, 617 to 624.
"We were very, very happy with our scores, especially on Day 1," Melcher said. "To finish one-over as a team is amazing golf."
The Hornets were led by Gieseker, who bounced back from his off-day at Brookside with a three-under 69 on Day 1 and an 80 on Day 2 to finish alone in second place overall.
Areddy, Campbell, and Paternini all finished in a tie for ninth overall with identical two-day totals of 156. Areddy shot 72-84, Campbell 73-83 and Paterini 75-81.
The Hornets returned to play another nine-hole SEC quad meet at Ann Arbor's Leslie Park Golf Course Monday. This time, Paterini shot his low nine-hole score of the season with a 36, finishing as the meet medallist and pacing Saline to a seven-stroke victory over the Mules.
Campbell followed with a 37, Gieseker shot 39 and Spittler a 41 for a 153 total.
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