FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio (Sept. 27, 2023) -- A senior six-pack teed it up in the valley for the last time Wednesday, as Rocky River hosted Olmsted Falls in what marked the Pirates' 12th-and-final match of the season. The match also marked Senior Day for the Rocky River program, and River's Greybeards came through on a day that saw the Bulldogs go low with a four-man score of 153 on the outward nine at Big Met Golf Course.
The afternoon in the valley was overcast with an early-autumn chill. But colder still was the ice water in the veins of six Swinging Corsairs. All six would finish within eight strokes of par on the par-36, 3,329-yard parcel of riverside land. The final four-man tally for the home side was a season-best-tying 147, and the Pirates nipped the Bulldogs by six (147-153).
"It’s always great to win on Senior Day," said coach David Hendrickson. "But this one was extra special. These six kids have had a tremendous impact on our program over the last four seasons."
The six Greybeards honored as part of Wednesday's match finale were Dan Capka, Luke Dietrich, Jack Hurt, Jack Petrus, Luke Petrus, and Nick Tianello. In 20 events this season, Rocky River golfers have filed 80 counting scores. Seventy-two of those have been registered by seniors.
On Wednesday at Big Met, River's counters were Dietrich (34), Tianello (36), Capka (37), and Hurt (40). The Petrus brothers came in at 42 and 44.
Dietrich's 34 was built on two birdies (Nos. 3 and 5) and seven pars. Tianello overpowered the par-4 sixth and par-5 seventh holes. He went birdie-birdie to go 2-under before finishing bogey-bogey on Nos. 8-9. Capka's 37 was comprised of an opening bogey and then eight straight pars. Hurt's round included a rocky start, but he rallied behind an eagle -- the first of his RRHS career -- on the par-5 fifth to get things turned around. After being 4-over through four holes, Hurt played the rest of his round in even-par.
As a team, Rocky River (11-1) hit 23-of-36 (63.9%) greens in regulation; Capka hit eight greens in his round. With Tianello's 13 putts leading the way, River averaged 15 putts per man.
River's GIR mark stands as the squad's second-best of the season in a nine-hole match (24-of-36, 66.7%, at Sweetbriar Golf Club Aug. 29).
As a collection of seasons, what the Swinging Corsairs have done the last three or four years stands as an era of program history perhaps second to none. The Pirates will look to cap off that era with an October flourish. River's postseason play opens Monday with a section tournament at Grey Hawk Golf Club.
by Skip Snow
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