The Girls Golf team is having an adventurous and successful season. The Hatters are chasing a state title and FCIAC Championship from within Danbury’s stacked conference of powerhouses such as Greenwich and Staples.
The team, coached by Kathy Boucher, is currently ranked 4th in the state behind Greenwich. The team is currently 9-2, with recent wins against Fairfield Warde and Ridgefield.
Boucher attributes the 2016 season’s success to the three captains: seniors Katelyn Mooney, Devyn Howe and Danielle Polinchock, along with teammates senior Victoria Bueti and sophmore Payton Dorsch.
The Hatters beat rival Staples by a narrow margin of 3 strokes. Girl’s Golf has failed to capture a win over Staples for many years, so the win truly portrays the level of strength the team has this year compared to previous teams.
“We always seem to recover for one another when someone is struggling. All of us have a really great bond, and I think the encouragement and motivation we give to each other is crucial to our ‘teams success,” Polinchock says. “Each one of us is very focused and driven; we understand what we are capable of doing, both individually and as a team.”
Recently Polinchock, who is the team’s No. 2, topped the No. 1 golfer from Greenwich by a single stroke, shooting a 38.
“Danielle is a captain based on her motivational skills and ‘I’m not going to quit’ attitude,” Boucher says. “Her skills keep improving.”
Polinchock will attend Penn State in the fall, with a major in biology/pre-med. Her ambition to play golf in college depends greatly on her performance this season.
The Hatters shot a 173-211 against Wilton at Richter Park, a score lower than several boys teams in the FCIAC conference.
Howe assists the team with a quiet and sure hand as Danbury’s No. 3 golfer.
“She made captain based on her immense loyalty and commitment to golf,” Boucher says. “Devyn has played for four years and is driven to improve herself and the team. She is the quiet captain that gets the job done through her great golf scores.”
Howe appreciates Boucher’s comments. From her standpoint, she has more work to do.
“Individually I’m struggling this year with my game, but I’m still coming in with decent scores,” says Howe, who plans to attend University of Hartford. “I’ve been playing for nine years, and the best part of my game is my putting; I always have a good feel for how the greens works.”
Howe will attend the University of Hartford this fall, aiming to golf for Hartford’s intramural/club team.
Katelyn Mooney heads the team as the most talented athlete, Danbury’s No. 1 golfer.
“As captain, I am very confident in our ability to succeed this season, and I expect we will do exactly that,” Mooney says. “The past two years I’ve been All-State, so my personal goals this season would be to continue that trend.”
“Katelyn Mooney is a captain based on her pure natural ability. She has been our No. 1 golfer since her freshman year. She is the Marcus Fox of golf,” Boucher says, comparing her to Fox, a valuable prospect for next year’s Boys Basketball team . “She is a beast on the golf course; she shot a 37 against Wilton, which quite a stacked team.”
Mooney will attend the University of Connecticut the coming fall. Mooney will be completing her golfing career this outdoor season, as UConn does not have a girl’s golf team.
The veteran coach says Bueti and Dorsch are also key to this year’s success.
“Bueti is going to have a breakout season very soon. She is a four-year player and will blossom later this season,” Boucher says. “Dorsch has been key this year coming in with scores that have been very helpful to the team.”
Greenwich appears to be the strongest rival of Danbury. Ranked No. 2 in the state, it will bring the most challenge to the Hatters when the conference title rolls around. Last year, Danbury took 6th. The Hatters have not won states since 2004.
“I’m hoping that the team reaches it’s peak at the right time and place — that being on June 7th at the Tanush Knolls course in Trumbull, the state tournament,” Boucher says. “Remember, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!”