GolfNewsRI

For the second part of the GolfNewsRI preview series, we go to the Northern Division.

Northern Division

The Northern Division is going to be a battle between three teams, defending Division champs Smithfield, North Smithfield and Cumberland.

Smithfield

The Smithfield Sentinels return five starters from last season’s division championship team. 

That team got to the State Championship, but did not make the day two cut. This year’s team will seek to take the next step. 

Smithfield will be led by seniors Liam Hickey and Jacob Turbitt. 

Hickey finished in a tie for 19th at the abbreviated Challenge Cup Championship earlier this week, while Turbitt finished 81st. 

Senior Riley Gran will also play a key role on this year’s team after finishing 102nd at the Challenge Cup Championship earlier this week. 

All three of these players had important roles on last year’s squad, so experience will not be an issue. 

One thing that Head Coach Jim Parente is excited about for this year’s team is the depth that they have. 

“Roster depth will be a plus in 2022, returning Jr’s. Ava Morin and Aymane Bouzaffour are joined by fellow Jr. Frank Lombardi and a large group of freshman golfers who all show potential,” Parente told GolfNewsRI. 

With those players, along with Samantha Tinsley and Dominic Simonelli, Smithfield is one of the teams that could make things interesting in the State Championship. 

North Smithfield

Like Smithfield, North Smithfield is also a veteran squad, as they are returning their entire team from last season. 

Amazingly, there were no seniors on last year’s team that fell just short of the State Championship. 

“We have a core group of 9 seniors that will be looking to end their high school sports careers on a high. Based on early practice rounds we should be competitive in the division and may even end up surprising some teams,” said head coach John Galoski. 

He adds, “ All that we can do is focus on our own scores and performance and try to score the lowest that we can.  Our Senior leadership should help us greatly this season and we are looking forward to getting things started.”

North Smithfield will be led by seniors Ryan Tremblay, Adam Dubois, Noah Dagesse and Nick Marseglia. 

Coach Galoski tells GolfNewsRI that Marseglia will be playing lacrosse at the varsity level at the same time as golf, so that will be interesting. 

“In addition to the Seniors listed we also have a group that will make practice competitive and will make deciding on a roster difficult for me for each match,” said Galoski. 

Sophomores Joshua Neves and Cooper Carlson will be part of that group. 

Cumberland

The Cumberland Clippers lost 12 seniors after last season on a roster that had 18 players on it. 

That team got off to a sizzling start and made it to the State Championship tournament, but didn’t make the day two cut. 

This season, the Clippers will be led by junior Jon Walsh and senior Brady Hogan. 

“Cumberland is consistently strong,” said North Smithfield coach John Galoski about the Clippers. 

Last season, Walsh didn’t make the cut in the individual State Tournament after shooting 16-over par. 

More recently, Walsh finished in a tie for 61st at this week’s Challenge Cup Championship. 

Despite the squad having a bit of a fresh look, the Clippers will be looking to carry over momentum from last season.

Best of the Rest

Burrillville – After having success behind Jacob Trimble over the last couple of years, the Broncos will be in a bit of a rebuild this year. 

“We had some really close and competitive matches with Burrillville last year and expect the same this season,” said North Smithfield coach John Galoski about the Broncos. 

The Broncos will be led by seniors Brian Brissette and Daniel Morey, but those are the only two seniors on the team. 

Other than that, they have four freshman and a sophomore in Tanner Pincince. 

Ponaganset – Other than senior Zachary Poirer and junior James Cavanagh, Ponaganset will field a very young team this year with all freshmen and sophomores. 

The focus of Ponaganset will be on freshman Gianna Papa, who has already had a pretty accomplished junior career.

She won the 2020 RI Junior Amateur and has made deep runs in each of the last several Women’s Amateur Tournaments. 

While the Chieftains team won’t be a contender for the State title this year, Papa certainly will have a chance at the Girls Individual title. 

The other teams in the division are Woonsocket, Mount Saint Charles and Lincoln. 

The Lions will have new coach Mike Forrest leading the way this year.