Sean Christman ’17 also contributed to this story.
Expectations were high for the Malvern Prep golf team going into 2014, and they certainly rose to the occasion.
After a terrific 2013 campaign in which the team won the Inter-Ac, this year’s team had to replace last year’s seniors Mike Davis (who is now golfing at Princeton), Brendan Hallinan, Alex McLaughlin, and Kevin McGeary.
However, the coaching staff felt confident in this year’s group.
“We’re fortunate to return a talented group of seniors this year”, said Head Coach Gary Duda, “Brendan Bacskai, Mike Lamond, and Mike Szipszky have all been instrumental in our program’s success the past 4 years.” Coach Duda and Coach Joe Redican stated that their goal was the same as it was every year: win the Inter-Ac.
“Last year we lost our number one golfer, Mike Davis, as well as Kevin McGeary; but Nick Miller and Marty McGuckin really filled in for them nicely.”, said senior co-captain Mike Szipsky, “They stepped up and were one of the major reasons why we had such a good season.”
In addition, Coach Duda named senior Jack Hagan, junior Mike Miller, and freshman Matt Davis as important contributors.
They started this season with an outstanding 10-0 start and finished the regular season with a 24-5-1 record.
“Yet again, the Haverford school was our closest competitor in the league. Episcopal was also very strong,” said Duda.
Unfortunately, despite all of the hard work the team put in this season, they did not repeat as Inter-Ac Champions. Malvern came in second to Haverford, falling two wins shy of tying the Fords’ 27 victories.
“We needed to win [our last match] in order to win the Inter-Ac, but unfortunately we were not able to do this,” said Szipszky, “We wanted to repeat as Inter-Ac champs, but we fell a few strokes short.”
“I am really happy and proud with how our younger guys played this year and they will give Malvern a great chance to rebound and bring home an Inter- Ac championship next year,” said Szipszky.
“It was great for us to do so well this season, but second place was disappointing,” added Nick Miller ‘17. “Hopefully next year we will be able to come back and win the league.”
Even though the team is disappointed in the finish, the season is not entirely over. Players from the team are going to be competing in an individual league championship match at the end of the month.
“The top players in our league will compete for the Bert Linton Individual Championship held at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill Course at the end of the month, followed by the PAISSA State Team Championship on October 25th,” said Duda.
At these events, the team is hoping to continue on their previous success. Hopefully, they will be able to continue to produce strong performances. Inter-Ac title or not, one thing is certain; the Malvern Prep Golf Team is going to continue to be a force for years to come.
