Student Feature Friday - Central Massachusetts Championship Golf Team goes to States!

Left to Right: Coach Ryan Cody, Cole Alibozek, Justin DiAntonio, Sean Downing, John Kossuth,
Kyle Downing, Jake Osgood

It's been an amazing season for Nipmuc's golf team. On October 19 the team captured the Central Massachusetts championship, powered by a true team effort. Cole Alibozek (76) finished in first place with Kyle Downing (79) and Justin DiAntonio (80) taking the third and fourth places, respectively. In addition to being exceptionally skilled, the team also has a unique chemistry. Their positivity and camaraderie is contagious. We're excited for the group as they get ready for the State Championship match on Monday at the Crumpin-Fox Golf Course in Bernardston.

I had the chance to hear from the team about their season earlier this week. Some of their thoughts are included below:

Cole Alibozek, Class of 2018
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A.  My favorite part of the season was winning the districts as a team.

Q. What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. My favorite memory of the season was beating Hopedale at their course for the first time in seven years.

Q.  What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A.  I'm looking forward to the beautiful course and getting to play golf this late in the fall.

Justin DiAntonio, Class of 2016
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A. The most exciting part of the season to me was leading such an incredibly talented group of golfers to victory at our Dual Valley Conference and District Championships.

Q. What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. My favorite memory from this season has to be blowing our competition away at our District Championship and having our best golfer, Cole Alibozek, win medalist at the event.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A. I feel as though Nipmuc is a great contender this year at the State Championship and I look forward to finishing our season strong along with the best golfers in the state.

Kyle Downing, Class of 2018
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A. Winning districts was the most exciting part of the season. Playing and performing at a high level as a team is a great feeling. It is very exciting to see golf as a sport to talk about at Nipmuc.

Q.What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. Either winning districts or beating St Bernard's in Fitchburg but I'm sure states will be a great experience.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A. Having a memorable experience with the team and playing our best golf possible

Sean Downing, Class of 2018
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A. The most exciting part of the season has got to be our win in districts in the freezing weather; this was such a gratifying moment of all the work we've put in together as a team.
Q. What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. My favorite memory from this season is when we went to Sutton, our closer in competitor in the conference and waxed them 8-1 in match play, it was very satisfying.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A. I am most looking forward to playing on a great golf course against great competition.

John Kossuth, Class of 2016
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A. The most exciting part of the season for me has definitely been the post-season tournaments such as the Dual Valley Conference Championship, D2 Central Massachusetts District Championship, and the D2 State Championship.

Q. What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. My favorite memory from the season has to be the entire season itself. Every day we had practice I was able to look forward to playing a nice round of golf with my friends and not only be able to get better but enjoy myself as well. Matches were especially exciting because that was the time to show all of the hard work that we put in during practices. The post-season has also been great as well. Becoming a League Champion, DVC Champion, District Champion, and qualifying for the State Championship was just the icing on the cake.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A. I'm most looking forward to having the opportunity to redeem myself from my poor performance in the District Championship along with having the chance to play one of the most beautiful courses in Massachusetts with my teammates.

Jake Osgood, Class of 2016
Q. What has been the most exciting part of the season for you?
A. The most exciting part of the season for me was definitely winning districts. As a senior I was hoping that my last season would be a good one and I couldn’t be more happy with the way it turned out. We've had many great, exciting matches but winning districts felt the best.

Q. What is your favorite memory from the season?
A. There are plenty of memorable moments from this season including the team and coaches but I will always remember one particular shot. It was the first hole of our last match and I put my second shot in a bunker on a par 4 about 25 yards from the hole. Feeling frustrated I just lined up the bunker shot and swung, just thinking what it would take to limit this hole to a bogey. To my surprise the ball came out just where I wanted it to. It then took the hill on the long two-tiered green and started breaking toward the hole. I was in complete disbelief when the ball fell into the hole but I'll always remember that one-in-a-million shot.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in the State Championship match?
A. I'm really just happy to be going to States. We are staying over at a hotel near the course because of how far away the course is. I'm sure that will be a fun experience and just getting the opportunity to play at a course that I probably never would have otherwise is something that I appreciate about these matches.