Date: Fri 08-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Golf-History

Full Text:

Golf History

There have been championships in 1964, 1972, 1981, 1983 and 1984, 1991 and

1992, and 1994, and as astonishing as the Newtown High School golf team has

been since coach Lou DePaul led it to that first title, it's hard not to

wonder about the years 1987 through 1989.

Since the dawn of the golf program and the Western Connecticut Conference, no

team may have been more dominant or consistent than Newtown, but somehow the

Indians, amid all that success, hit a bump.

A glitch, a hitch, a blip, a slip.

A snag.

In 1987, the Indians experienced what might have been their first-ever losing

record, a 3-11 record distinguished only by the presence of No. 1 golfer Tom

Traub. The Indians followed in 1988 with a 1-8-1 record and then heaped more

misery upon themselves in 1989 with a 1-9-1 record.

But that was it, a 5-28-2 record over the course of three years that appears

as no more than a minor imperfection on an otherwise unsullied history of

golfing accomplishment.

Turning For The Better

The 1-9-1 record wasn't only the end of the Newtown High School's bad period,

it was also the start of the Indian's most dominant three-year period in their

history. In 1989, the team won just one of its 11 matches, but on that team

were freshmen David Brookes, Brian Gorman, and Bobby Snyder - the same trio

that, with the help of David Hufner - propel the Indians towards two

consecutive WCC championships in the next three years and a 45-6 record over

that time (including 15-0 in 1991).

In 1990, the Indians finished 14-4 and flirted with the WCC championship, but

locked themselves out with a bizarre double fault - concerning invalid score

cards - in the last regular season meet. They finished second to Brookfield. 

But in 1991, there was no stopping the Indians. They finished 15-0, with

Snyder and Brookes claiming All-WCC honors. Brookfield was 11-3 that year, the

closest competitor, but took two of its losses from Newtown.

The Indians continued to dominate with Brookes, Snyder, Hufner and Gorman in

their senior years. A 16-2 mark handed them their second straight conference

title and coach Jim Casagrande's fifth in 11 years. On that team was a fellow

by the name of Tony Costa, a sophomore, who would be around two years later to

help coach Casagrande win his sixth WCC title.

The following year, 1993, had the potential to be disastrous, especially with

the graduation of the powerful foursome, but captains Jeff Danko and Matt

Schneider, along with junior Costa and sophomore John Dansdill, finished the

year 12-5.

Luck had something to do with it, for sure, but skill had even more. In 1994,

with Costa, a senior, playing in the No. 1 position and sophomore Jared

Tendler playing in the No. 2 hole, the Indians defeated Brookfield at

Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury in the WCC championship meet. The Indians,

12-2 on the year, not only had to match cards against Masuk that day, to make

up a match postponed by rain, but also had to outshoot the powerful Bobcats.

As good as their luck was in 1994, that's how bad it was in '95. With two

disappointing losses to Weston and a shocking loss to Masuk, the Indians, 14-3

on the year, found themselves with no real shot at the WCC title. Tendler, a

junior, was the medalist at the WCC tournament. The 14-3 mark pushed coach

Casagrande's career mark to 151-62-3. Minus the 5-28-2 record over that short,

three-year bump in the road, and his career record is 146-34-1.

A Good Beginning

Information on the early years of the program are sketchy, but it wasn't hard

to discover that, in 1964, coach Lou DePaul had the team humming towards a WCC

championship. The Indians defeated Bethel 377-380 at Rolling Hills Country

Club for the title. With Fred Crouch, Tom Holmes, Shane Eagan, Tom Gross, and

John Kocet, the Indians were able to slip by the Wildcats. Holmes was the team

MVP while Kocet was medalist with a 91 at the championship match.

John Kocet went on to lead the Indians in the 1966 and 1967 seasons, earning

MVP honors in both years.

From 1969 through 1972, however, it was a guy by the name of Paul Ziemann. As

a freshman he was strong, but as a junior, in 1971, he was stronger, leading

the Indians, coached by Chuck Mann and Rich Pesce, to a 14-3 record and

second-place finish in the WCC.

In 1972, the Indians - and Ziemann - did themselves one better, finishing up

11-4 and earning the WCC championship on the tough Aspetuck Valley Country

Club course. Ziemann had the best round of the year, a 69. Jeff Kocet and

Kevin Cragin helped make up the backbone of the team.

In 1973 and '74, the Indians turned in consecutive 10-4 records. The '74

campaign saw the emergence of Kip Bowers, who would go on to lead the Indians

to a 10-3 mark in 1976 with the aid of John Hiteshew.

When Casagrande took over the team in 1980 from coach Bert Boyce, it paid him

some immediate dividends. In 1981, the team - with players like Joe LaCava,

Bob Gibbons, and Frank Bolander - handed him his first WCC title with a 12-2

record.

In 1982, the Indians finished up 10-4, dropping three of those four losses in

the WCC to end the season. Conrad Smith and LaCava paced the team.

Casagrande's second championship came in 1983, when Smith, Jeff Downer, Matt

Kay (unbeaten for the year), Scott Conover, and All-WCC player Jim Traub went

undefeated at 14-0. The Indians won the WCC title by beating Weston, Masuk,

and Central Catholic at the WCC tournament.

It was repeat time in 1984, when the 10-3 Indians, who tied New Milford for

the Briggs Division lead, used Matt Kay's medalist round of 78 at the WCC

tournament to claim the title. Kay was 6-4-3 on the year, while Tom Arnold was

8-3, Scott Conover was 7-3, Dan Baker was 5-7, and Darren Person was 7-1.

Things slipped a little in 1985, as the Indians went 10-5-1 and claimed third

in WCC behind Steve Bussell, Brian Bilia and Jim Traub. Bussell was second in

the WCC with an 83 at tournament.

The Indians finished second to New Milford in 1986, winning 12 of 16 matches.

Bussell was All-WCC while Mike Early, Matt Haynos, and Bilia rounded out the

top four.

Then the bad times came, but they were brief, and the Indians returned to

their place - where they stand today - as the dominant golf team in the

Western Connecticut Conference.