Farmingdale repeats as Nassau golf champion
Farmingdale eighth grader Matt Lowe tees off from the 14th hole of the Red Course during the second and final round of the Nassau County boys golf team and individual championships at Bethpage State Park. Credit: James A. Escher
How does the Farmingdale boys golf team plan on celebrating its record- breaking Nassau team championship?
"We can celebrate by winning the Long Island Championship,'' coach John Berardi said. "That will put a cap on the season.''
The Dalers won their second straight Nassau team title at Bethpage Red Wednesday with an aggregate score of 759, a county record. Eighth-grader Matt Lowe (140), Kurt Brey (152), Kyle Brey (154), James Darcy (154), Michael Zelany (159) and Brandon Romano (170) cruised to a 52-stroke win over Cold Spring Harbor (811), with Syosset taking third with 821.
"It's special,'' Lowe said. "We have a bunch of great players on our team, so it feels good.''
Farmingdale had four members finish in the top nine and advance to the state tournament, which begins June 5 at Cornell. Lowe (who tied for 47th at states last year), the Brey brothers and Darcy will be joined by Lynbrook's Matt Hirsh (154), Jericho's Sahil Iyer (152), Mepham's Adam Larkin (156) and Syosset's Matt Csillag (158).
Csillag, an eighth-grader, made an 8-foot putt to defeat Manhasset's J.B. Thompson in a one-hole playoff to determine the final spot on the state team.
Farmingdale advances to play Kings Park in the Long Island Championship for the second straight year, at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Bethpage Black.
"It was a total team effort,'' Berardi said. "They played within themselves. They just went about their business like they have been doing all year.''
