Armstrong Boys Varsity Golf is Off to a Hot Start in 2016

 

by Jake DeLuca

With four matches down as of today the River Hawks boys varsity golf team will be back home for their next match Monday against Knoch at the Kittanning Country Club.

The River Hawks are now sitting nicely with a 3-1 record after their win against Kiski High School on Wednesday by a score of 204-212.

Jace Rearic led the way for Armstrong against Kiski with a match best score of 35. Also contributing to the win for the River Hawks was Nick Benvenuti (40), Adam Cippel (40), Gio Romeo (44), and Noah Cyphert (45).

Along with this being the second year of operation for Armstrong High School and the majority of the sports programs at the high school, this is also the second year for the River Hawks Head Coach, Brendon Ignatz.

Ignatz has some big expectations for his team this year, but the second year coach has faith that they can accomplish the goal he has set for them.

“(Expectations are) definitely a winning season, I think we have a team that can go into the playoffs. We just have to stay focused and win the key matches throughout the season and I think we will do well,” Ignatz said.

Now with a seasons experience as Head Coach, Ignatz shared what he learned from last season and how he has made adjustments to better his team.

“I think it’s more or less just having the kids stay composed. Last year we were a really young team, and now they have more maturity – a couple kids played in tournaments over the summer. So I think it is more or less preaching to them to manage the courses correctly and not to get beat down by poor shots; you are going to hit poor shots, manage them correctly,” Ignatz explained.

The River Hawks this year are a young team, with only one senior on the team according to the head coach, but this is an impressive group of young players according to Ignatz.

“I was really impressed – a couple of guys got some really good distance, they can really hit the ball far. I’ve seen long hitters in the past and these guys are sophomores and juniors and they are hitting it really really far,” Ignatz said about his players.

For more information about the River Hawks golf team or Armstrong athletics in general visit http://www.riverhawksathletics.org/.