Mercy golfers getting a grip on the game

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

Slowly and surely, the Mercy golf team is finding its way this spring.

The Magic performed well in the only match of the season against Garrison Forest — a 3-0 victory at the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club — in late March before a spate of bad weather hampered some potential practice sessions for Mercy and other B Conference squads.

This week, though, Mercy was back on course when it hosted Notre Dame Prep on Thursday at Sparrows Point Country Club.

Coach Matt Canapp said that sophomore Kennedi Brice, who is actively involved in Youth on Course Maryland, an organization which promotes players from ages 6-18 to play on 24 participating courses in the state and nearly 2,000 courses nationwide for $5 or less per round, is one of the most consistent and hardest workers on the team.

She and junior Hannah DeMario were victorious as the middle twosome against the Grizzlies, sandwiched between the No. 1 pairing of juniors Marlea Parr and Michele Petrosino and No. 3 duo of sophomore Emma Panageotou and senior  Brooke Mikelskas.

Meanwhile, freshmen Brooke Mellendick and Emma Taylor are also making progress toward giving the Magic a healthy measure of depth.

“We have a young team, and they are buying into it a little bit more,” Canapp said, alluding to players like Brice who put in extra effort to improve.

He added that the most promising part of his players’ game is from the tee, with “potential for getting better” as they become more acclimated to the art of driving.

The short game, chips and putts, is more problematic, a common affliction shared by many golfers, especially newcomers.

Even so, the Magic will be hoping to pull everything together and secure a second B Conference championship when the season-ending tournament unfolds on May 13-14 at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Timonium.