Staples girls varsity golf team after their home-opening victory over St. Joseph of Trumbull, from left: Rachel Pontoriero, Cammie Rubino, Katelynn Mitchell, Aviva Ross, Lauren Clementi, Eliza Edwards (who carded a birdie, hence the flamingo) and Maia Gubitz. / Contributed photos by Patty Kondub

By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — The Staples girls golf team is off to a winning start this season. The Wreckers have a record of 3-2 and have shown more promise than their winning record reveals.

Staples, after falling to Darien in the season opener, won back-to-back road matches over Fairfield Ludlowe and Danbury before improving to 3-1 with a victory over St. Joseph of Trumbull in the April 23 home opener at Longshore Golf Course. 

But the Wreckers fell at home to Darien on Thursday.

Facing St. Joe’s, the Wreckers carded a 194 to 233 win. Eliza Edwards shot a career low 44, Rachel Pontoriero a 48, Maia Gubitz, 50, and Katelynn Mitchell, 52.

Staples JV golfers are, from left: Eliza Wadley (varsity player who played in Thursday’s match to even out a foursome), Grace Zhang, Sam Hossain, Kristin Devine, Julienne Bozeman, Sophia Peck and Riley Sklar.

In the home match with Darien, the Blue Wave’s top golfer shot a 2 over par from the white tees at Longshore. 

“A sensational round from an opponent is tough to overcome unless we have a player to catch fire. And, unfortunately, junior Aviva Ross was on fire for Staples, but her score in the sixth position of the lineup cannot count toward the team total,” said Staples Coach Patty Kondub, noting that only the best four scores from first five players are used in scoring.

Staples standouts this year have been junior Pontoriero carding in the 40s every match, senior Edwards and sophomore Mitchell in the pressure spot playing at No. 1 in four of the five matches, Kondub noted. 

Lauren Clementi, a transfer from New Jersey, has been a bright addition to the squad, the coach said. Seniors Gubitz, Erin Oldale and Cammie Rubino have contributed to the victories. Kondub said freshman Eliza Wadley will see action at some point next week when the Wreckers host Greenwich on Tuesday, travel to Ridgefield Wednesday and Warde on Thursday, all at 3 p.m.

The Staples JV squad dropped its season opener to Fairfield Ludlowe/Warde on the road but came out on top at home hosting Darien on Thursday. 

(Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest updates.) 

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.

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