By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT—Staples girls golf earned its spot in the June 2 FCIAC Championship match with a 197-211 win over Ridgefield at Longshore Golf Course (white tees, par 38) in a tri-match to conclude the regular season.

Staples lost to Darien (179) on the same day, in a non-conference match. On April 9, Staples lost by a single stroke to Darien, a team which has subsequently finished the season undefeated.

Lillian Hallett carded a 45, Katelynn Mitchell 47, Eliza Wadley 51 and Lucy Hill 54.

Staples has qualified for FCIACs in 18 of the 20 years Patty Kondub has been coaching for the Wreckers (seven as an assistant varsity and JV, and 13 as head coach).

“The student athletes swing the clubs. They work for every shot to land in the best spot, not the coaches. They should get all the credit. Coach Maureen Fontana and I are very happy for the team to have qualified for the county championships again,” Kondub said.

The Wreckers had one other match this past week, May 26 at St. Joseph in Trumbull, which finished in a 200-200 tie in a non-FCIAC conference match. Both Ryan McGrath and Mitchell carded 48s, Hill 50 and Wadley 54.

Sterling Farms in Stamford hosts the FCIAC Team Championships. The five players for the Wreckers are Hallett, Hill, Mitchell, McGrath and Wadley.

On Thursday, June 4, senior captain Mitchell travels alone to Oak Hills in Norwalk as the Wreckers’ top golfer, to compete in the Individual FCIAC Championships.

“Katelynn is wrapping up a stellar career as a four-year varsity golfer in our program. It will be sad for Staples when she finishes hole 18 at Oak Hills, but she’ll always be a Wrecker!” Kondub said.

Staples, ranked 10th in Connecticut Division I girls golf, competes one more time as a team in the State Championships at Timberlin Golf Course in Berlin for an 8 am shotgun start on June 10. The Wreckers will be without Mitchell, so it is a glimpse at the future as the season closes.

Andy Hutchison

^{_{Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories, since the 1990s. He is the sports editor at the Newtown Bee. He writes for the Monroe Sun. He was director of communications and radio color commentator for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (now Islanders) hockey team. He has won numerous writing awards, including regional and national first-place honors.}}