Division: I
Coach: Ed Deshaies (13th year)
Last year: 8-12, did not make tournament
Returning starters: Thomas Burns, sr.; Hayley Reed, sr.; Evan Makris, so.; Sean McDonough, so.; Ryan Merchant, so.; Quentin Barry, so.
Top newcomers: Winsor Bean, so.; Matthew Burns, fr.; William Shoemaker, fr.; Logan Otto, fr.
Outlook: The Tide returns seven golfers from last year’s team, including Reed, who finished sixth in the girls’ individual State Championship Flight last year. Despite being a young team, Concord returns a strong sophomore class that got valuable last year as freshmen. “(We gave) good depth. We should be good enough to make (D-I State Tournament) in October,” Coach Deshaies said.
Teams to beat: Bedford, Keene, Bishop Guertin
Division: II
Coach: Phil Davis (2nd year)
Last year: 10-11, 11th in D-II
Returning players: Danny Bryck, sr.; Michael Tauscher, sr.; Maddy Smith, sr.; Jackson Wajer, sr.; Cooper Johnson, sr.; Sarah Vermette, jr.; Mary-Anne Wiley, jr.; Meghann Haley, jr.; Nick Grimbilas, so.; Max Marinace, so.; John Tauscher, so.
Top newcomers: Matt Cherian, fr.; John Chapdelaine, fr.
Outlook: With Grimbilas, a frequent player at NEPGA junior events this summer, leading the way, the Green Giants are hoping for a strong season. Bryck (a four-year player), Smith and Wiley give Brady some depth and experience, and there’s a major motivating factor for regular-season success – the D-II championships will be at Beaver Meadow, the Giants’ home course.
Division: II
Coach: Tim Tenasco (17th year)
Last year: 16-5, 8th in D-II
Returning starters: Joel Boulanger, sr.; Dylan Andrews, sr.; Derek Elwell, jr.; Joe Morrisette, sr.; Shane Fillion, sr.; Brandon Lamarre, so.
Top newcomers: Jake Flanagan, jr.; Ander Wensberg, jr.
Outlook: The Bears are hoping to build off of back-to-back D-II State Tournament appearances and have their top and third best scorers from last year, Boulanger and Andrews, to lead the way. Boulanger qualified for the individual state tournament in each of the past two seasons and hopes to medal this year. The Bears’ success will depend on how well the remaining seniors and juniors step up to fill in for the golfers who graduated last year.
Teams to beat: Hanover, Windham, Souhegan, Goffstown
Division: II
Coach: Justin Connell (3rd year)
Last year: 2-21, did not make tournament
Returning starters: Ryan Rothdiener, jr.; William Shattuck, jr.; Moses Greene, sr.; Jameson Bourque, so.; Tyler Hazzard, so.
Top newcomers: Kyle Hagman, jr.; Joseph Simeone, jr.; Noah Greene, jr.; Justin Bowen, sr.
Outlook: The Generals have several newcomers and fresh talent joining the returners, including Rothdiener, the top returner from last season. Rothdiener also shows promise in the individual competition. “It will be good to see the team progress as we move through the season. We have many new and young players that I hope will improve through the season and have an impact on the team in the future,” Coach Connell said.
Teams to beat: Hanover, Portsmouth, Trinity
Division: II
Coach: Beth Hamilton (7th year)
Last year: 5-17, did not make tournament
Returning starters: Justin Legere, jr.; David Hammond, sr.; Steven Cavanaugh, jr.; Sean Moore, jr.; Jon Smith, jr.; Garette Frew, so.
Top newcomers: Jake Severance, jr.; Peter Landry, fr.; Taylor Olivier, fr.
Outlook: With six returning starters from the last year’s squad the Spartans hopes to improve over last year’s mark. “We continue to strive for a winning record and a possible tournament bid,” Coach Hamilton said.
Division: III
Coach: Kevin Charleston (14th year)
Last year: 0-13, did not make tournament
Returning starters: Trevor Hunt, sr.; Nicole Antonucci, sr.; Wyatt Paquin, jr.; Michael Marrone, so.; Karley Towne, so.
Outlook: “Even though we return five players that played in every tournament last season, we have out work cut out for ourselves this season,” Coach Charleston said. “Losing Mike Sanborn and his consistent scoring each match will be difficult to replace at the beginning of the season. We will be counting on Antonucci, Hunt, Paquin, Towne, and Marrone for our scoring. As the season progresses we may have some of the newer players begin to contribute to our top four scores, but until then the workload falls on these five players. On the upside, we have greater numbers this season which will create a healthy competition for the final two match spots.”
Teams to beat: Bow
Division: III
Coach: Dennis O’Connor (1st year)
Last year: 10-10, did not make tournament
Returning starters: Gunnar Andersson, sr.; Charlie O’Connor, sr.; Jake Bears, jr.; Will Chadwick, jr.; Sean Higgins, jr.; Solomon Neuwirt, jr.; Evan Raeuchle, jr.; Logan Seaholm, jr.
Top newcomers: Ben Carl, fr.; Molli Mayo, fr.
Outlook: With a bevy of players back who got starts in matches last year, as well as some talent coming up, the Cougars have the pieces in place to improve on last year’s record and make a run at a D-III tournament berth.
Division: IV
Coach: Brian McGinn (3rd year)
Last year: 13-7, 6th in D-IV
Returning starters: Jacob Cole, sr.; Carl Desfosses, sr.; Lyam Chapman, so.
Top newcomers: Joel Johnson, sr.; Ryan Gillett, so.
Outlook: The roster only runs five-deep, but McGinn still has state tournament aspirations – as well as individual title hopes for Cole, a third-year player who’s been scoring in the 30s for nine holes. The goal for the Hillcats is to play smart and avoid trouble, giving them a chance to maintain a similar record to last year and be in the tournament running again.
Teams to beat: Newport, Sunapee, White Mountains, Inter-Lakes
Division: IV
Coach: Dave Chase (1st year)
Last year: 10-11, 7th in D-IV
Returning starters: Nick Fairneny, sr.; Trent Gagnon, jr.; Larsen Burack, so.; Justin Durant, sr.; Noah Kerbyson, sr.
Top newcomers: Kiernan Byrne, so.; Ryan Hughes, so.; Henry Lavoie, so.; Andrew Fairneny, fr.
Outlook: The Hawks return their top two scorers from last season’s D-IV State Championship in Fairneny (9th in D-IV) and Burack, but have six golfers brand new to sport for first-year coach Chase (former Hopkinton boys’ basketball coach and current baseball coach) to work with. “We will be looking for improvement each match (from the newcomers),” said Chase. “Fairneny is probably the top golfer on the team followely closely by Gagnon and Burack. If the next three golfers can steadily improve as the season goes on, the Hawks could be in the thick of things when the Division IV tournament takes place.”
Teams to beat: “Everyone on our schedule,” according to Coach Chase.