Martlets Fall to Deerfield

The JV Golfing Martlets made the long trip north to Crumpin Fox on the Massachusetts/Vermont border – within sight of the Arctic Circle and last night’s impressive aurora borealis – to take on the Big Green of Deerfield. The course setup was certainly challenging as Crumpin Fox was hosting a tournament including college players (the JVs began their match after the last tournament group teed off). Three Martlets were making their match debuts in 2024: Trip Hurley ‘25, Gus McGarvey ‘26, and Colin Moody ‘25. The course is tight, lined with with trees, and features many blind shots and complicated greens complexes – a decided home course advantage for the hosts. To add to the challenge, today was a typical New England mid-May day: a little cold, partly sunny (and when cloudy even colder), and a tricky breeze. This old coach well knew that the Martlets faced a bit of an uphill climb in this match up. Both teams struggled this afternoon, but Deerfield, to their credit, struggled less. The Black and Gold’s scoring was led by Grant Owen ‘24’s 41, followed by Connor Murphy ‘25’s 42. Moody came in with an even-bogey 45, including a hard-working 4 on the final hole. Hurley contributed a 49 and McGarvey a 52 to complete the scoring. The shot of the day goes to Murphy, who fired a long iron to 12 feet on the par-3 9th hole, setting up a cool two-putt par.  In the end, a disappointing afternoon for the Martlets, who had hoped to upset this strong Deerfield team. Deerfield’s Nick Smiarowski was medalist with a really impressive 38 given the weather and the course. Frustrated, the Martlets reboarded the toaster for the long drive south, salving their wounds at Wendy’s on the way home and arriving just in time for 8 pm check-in. The team will get back to work on Monday, and will look forward to a four-team matchup home on Wednesday: Founders League rivals Choate, Hotchkiss, and Taft. The Martlets will try for a little revenge against a very strong Taft team who bested them earlier this year. So clear your calendars, pack a picnic lunch, and we’ll see you on the tee!