Naugatuck golfers undeterred  

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck golf team is off to a slow start, but it’s not for a lack of determination.

“I will say the team is more determined than ever to play well and, honestly, I think that they’re pressing too much,” head coach Bob Clark said.

The Greyhounds dropped matches to Holy Cross (188-209) April 14, O’Brien Tech (199-218) on Monday, Watertown (160-225) on Tuesday and St. Paul (193- 208) on Wednesday to fall to 0-5.

“It was a tough way to start the season to play a bunch of good teams right out of the gate,” Clark said.

Holy Cross and Watertown are perennial golf powers in the NVL.

“You don’t wish that on your worst enemy,” Clark said about the tough schedule.

The Greyhounds’ short game has hurt the team, Clark said.

“We really should have started 3-0,” Clark said. “We started out slow for sure, we had 11 3-puts at East Mountain, and O’Brien was our worst performance in years. We really need to work on our short game. Our putting and chipping are off.”

Clark said the slow start hasn’t shaken his confidence because he knows the team is putting in the work.

“Our three senior captains are putting in the effort and the rest of the team sees that,” Clark said.

Jake Alcorace, Nick Fox and Ethan Maxwell are the senior leaders that Clark is hoping can show the team how to practice and prepare for matches.

Alcorace has posted the best score for the Greyhounds in each of their first four matches and has consistently shot in the 40s. His best round thus far was a 43 versus Holy Cross, and he was co-medalist for the round.

Clark said Alcorace is really determined to play at an All-NVL level this season. He said Alcorace’s attitude is a driving force on the team and he wants to help carry the program to the next level.

As the season continues, Clark is looking to shake up the lineup. Clark plans to give freshman Katie Brown an opportunity next week.

“She has earned the right. She was in our junior league the past few years and we started her out on the red tees and her scores were better than the boys. So then we moved her back to the whites and she was still putting up low scores. So we are giving her a shot to play from the blues and start for us,” Clark said. “The girls as a whole have really come along in a dynamic way.”

Clark plans on starting a girls varsity team next year with the eight girls on the squad.

The Greyhounds will be back on the course next week when they host Crosby on Monday and Woodland on Tuesday.

Elio Gugliotti contributed to this article.