The Saline Reporter
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Another close call in Detroit, but Hornets still perfect
Spittler's fifth score gives Saline title; Campbell on fire
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
The Saline boys' golf team has made a habit of winning over the past two seasons. So maybe it's not a surprise that the Hornets have pulled out multiple wins this year even when other teams have been equally strong one-through-four.
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Another such win came Friday at the Desmond Family Invitational, which was hosted by University of Detroit-Jesuit at the Detroit Golf Club. Led by senior Nick Campbell's runner-up 68, the Hornets finished with a team score of 285, tying Birmingham-Brother Rice for the tournament's low score.
It was the Hornets, however, who walked off with the tournament title after sophomore Peter Spittler — for the second time in two weeks — broke the tie with the better of the two team's fifth scores, shooting a 77 to edge the 79 of Brother Rice's Nick Dennis.
"That's twice. He's just playing out of his mind right now," Melcher said. "When we saw we were tied, we knew we'd be OK."
While it was Campbell who stood alone in second overall (and came within a stroke of tying for medallist honors), all five Hornets placed in the top-40 in the 6-team field.
Phil Gieseker tied for eighth after carding a 71. Senior captain Matt Paterini was just a stroke back, tying for 12th with a 72. Nick Areddy was two strokes behind Paterini, slipping into the top-25 and rounding out the Hornet scoring with a 74.
The scores of 285 tied the tournament record set in 2006.
Melcher said that she was satisfied with her team's performance, but admitted that her team was anxious after another close call
"It's not as comfortable a situation as we'd like to have," she said.
And the Hornets still had plenty of room for improvement.
"It's a par-68 course, so we finished 13 over par as a team. We know we're capable of doing better than that," Melcher said. "There are no complaints. But we can always get better and hopefully we will."
She said seeing Campbell, the No. 3 golfer in the Hornet lineup, lead the charge for Saline was wonderful.
Fortunately for the Hornets, things weren't quite as close the previous Wednesday in a dual meet against Dexter at the Ann Arbor Country Club. Paternini shot two-under par as Saline went on to defeat the Dreadnaughts by four strokes, 151 to 155.
Paterini's 34 was the low score at the meet. Campbell finished with a 37, Gieseker shot 39, and Areddy provided Saline's fourth score with a 41.
Spittler shot a 45 and Eric Brooks carded a 47.
Melcher described her team's play that day as "OK," but said as long as her team continues to pull out the victories and is ready when postseason play begins, she's not going to complain.
"I've told them, 'So far, so good'," she said. "We just need to keep improving. The hope, of course, is that you peak a the right moment."
On Tuesday afternoon Saline continued its run through the 2008 season with a 15-stroke victory at the Onsted Invitational at Jackson's Grande. The Hornets finished with a team score of 292, well ahead of runner-up Bay City Western's 307.
Campbell set a new career best by carding a 67, good enough to earn medallist honors in a 20-team field.
He was followed closely by Paterini with a 72 (good for third) and Spittler's sixth-plac 75. Areddy capped off the Saline scoring with a ninth-place 78.
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