Geneva McChesney Cup

Batavia, Geneva boys golf band together to defeat St. Charles East, North

Author(s): DENNIS D. JACOBS Date: August 23, 2011 Section: Sports

GENEVA – So far in the early stages of the high school golf season, the Batavia boys have found themselves chasing rival Geneva, finishing just behind the Vikings in two tournaments last week. The two teams met again Monday at Geneva Golf Club, but the long-time adversaries were on the same side in the McChesney Cup tournament, joining forces to defeat a combined St. Charles East-St. Charles North squad, 118.5-97.5.
“It’s just a wonderful opportunity for us to come out here and team up with what we call our rivals,” Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. “That’s what everyone calls us. But today they were friends, which is good.”
DeBruycker praised Geneva coach Bill Koehn for coming up with the idea of the McChesney Cup several years ago to help foster greater camaraderie between Tri-Cities schools and help dispel some of the negative comments that were bandied about between schools.
“It’s good to have a friendly rivalry, but it’s bad to let it get out of control,” DeBruycker said. “It’s just really nice to come out here and watch the kids work together and high-five each other.”
Each player got in 27 holes as the tournament was divided into three nine-hole phases. The first phase was best-ball play, with the Bulldogs and Vikings coming out on top, 33 holes to 21. The Saints and North Stars rebounded a bit in the next round, winning the alternate shot competition, 28-26. But in the final round of singles matches, Batavia and Geneva were victorious, 59.5-48.5.
Geneva No. 1 player Bill Gregory downed St. Charles East’s Sean Lenchner in their match, 6-3.
“I didn’t hit the ball very well, but I won,” Gregory said. “I guess that’s all that matters.”
The 404-yard, par-4 eighth hole proved to be a pivotal moment in the match. Gregory was 1 up, but he put his drive into the left rough, leaving his path to the green partially obscured by a weeping willow. His second shot hit a branch of the tree, dropping the ball into a tough lie next to a brook.
Lenchner, meanwhile, got onto the green in three, but was unable to capitalize on Gregory’s early troubles on the hole, missing a couple of short putts. Gregory sank a six-footer to claim the hole.
“You’ve got to stick with it because the greens are pretty difficult,” Gregory said. “I should not have won that hole.”

St. Charles North No. 1 John Carroll, who said he “played good the whole day,” tried to help the cause of the North Stars and Saints, downing Batavia’s Nathan Podraza, 6-3.

Carroll uncorked a shot from an island of rough in a bunker along the ninth fairway that he put within 12 feet of the pin. He just missed his birdie try, but a par was enough to win the hole and give his team another point.

The North Stars and Saints won’t face each other in a dual meet for another month, but the Bulldogs and Vikings will find themselves on opposite sides again next Tuesday in an Upstate Eight Conference dual.
“I was very pleased with our performance at Larkin and Geneva,” DeBruycker said. “Obviously, having Geneva beat us by three [strokes] and nine in those two tournaments shows us that we have to step it up a little bit because, ultimately, I still think that head-to-head match next Tuesday is going to be huge. It’s only our second conference match of the season, but it’s against one of the favorites.”

Copyright 2011, Kane County Chronicle (Geneva, IL). All Rights Reserved.
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