MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On Tuesday at Mountainview Golf Course in Morgantown, University (174) defeated Grafton (206) and Buckhannon-Upshur (187). The tri-match win upped the Hawks’ season record to 30-24-1 with five varsity matches remaining before the regional tournament on Sept. 30 at Williams Country Club in Weirton.
“We’ve been steadily improving as the season has progressed,” UHS coach Barry Kolar said. “We’ll be sending four golfers to regionals, and while our top three — Jack Giobbia, Levi Watson and Sam Zeni — are pretty much locked in, there’s a real battle for that last slot. We’ve had some sickness struggles, as well as injuries, but it will be interesting to see how things shake out.”
On the difficult, sloping front nine at Mountainview, Giobbia’s solid 39 was the lowest round of the day, and he was as pleased with the day as he has been with the season as a whole, at least so far.
“It’s been a good year,” the junior smiled, “although stepping into the No. 1 slot has been challenging at times. It’s hard not to feel like you let the team down if you don’t shoot low, but it’s helped me improve a lot over last year.”
University’s Jack Giobbia tees-off on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Levi Watson tees-off on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Levi Watson tees-off on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Levi Watson tees-off on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Jack Giobbia putts on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Levi Watson chips out of the bunker on Tuesday, at Mountainview. 
University’s Jack Giobbia chips onto the green Tuesday at Mountainview (William Woting/The Dominion Post).
The Hawks No. 3, senior Sam Zeni, posted a 43, followed by fellow senior Brayden Wilson (playing his first match since suffering a dislocated shoulder earlier in the season), who shot a 45. Freshman Zach Harmon continued to improve, as evidenced by his 48, while sophomore Alex Solomon, described by Kolar as “very capable of playing solid golf,” finished with a 54. Grafton was paced by Chris Miller’s 43, while B-U’s Issac Lane shot 42.
Next big match on University’s agenda is next week’s MoHawk Cup, a match-play format battle between the two crosstown rivals hosted by Morgantown at The Pines Country Club.
“We’re definitely putting the MoHawk cup at the top of our priority list,” Giobbia said. “Match play is so great because it’s so different from just playing to shoot a score. You play against your opponent, so there are different strategies involved, and different pressures. It’s a lot of fun.”
“We play with those guys all the time, so it’s a friendly competition,” said Watson, who struggled yesterday off the tee early in his round, but managed to minimize damage with strong play around the greens. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to beat them. We won my freshman year, and Morgantown has now beat us the last two times. So I definitely want to take back the Cup as a senior.”
According to Kolar, a glimpse down the road to the regional would seem to indicate that Wheeling Park is the odds-on favorite to qualify for states, but the second qualifier spot is a true toss-up.
“Morgantown, Preston, John Marshall, UHS — just about anybody could put together a strong tournament and finish second,” he said. “That’s the interesting thing about West Virginia high school sports. The regular season really doesn’t matter, which means that everybody has a shot. And I think we’ve got as good a shot as anyone. If we play like we’re capable, it will be tough to knock us out of a top 2 finish. But with golf, you never know. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
