TEAM COMPETITIONS
Massachusetts Wins, Connecticut Third at Tri-State Matches
E
ntering the final day of the 83rd Tri-State Matches,
held this year at Rhode Island Country Club, Team
Massachusetts knew it would need a full 12-member
effort to continue their recent success in the annual
tournament.
Trailing by double-digit points after the first day of play,
the Bay State squad came out firing on day two to capture a
record 13th straight Tri-State Matches title over Connecticut
and Rhode Island.
The victory marked the 34th championship overall
for Team Massachusetts dating back to the tournament’s
inaugural year in 1928.
Competing in singles matches on Wednesday, the
team’s 12 members added 42½ points to their day-one
14-point score to finish the two-day tournament with 56½
points, ahead of Rhode Island’s 54½ points and Connecticut’s
51.
“Thirteen straight Tri-State titles is impressive,” said
Jesse Menachem, the MGA’s executive director. “We had a lot
of returning players, which is nice, but to mix in some new
faces onto the team, both seniors and mid-amateurs, was
special. I think that it shows the quality and depth of play
that we have, which enabled us to rebound from a round-one deficit.”
Connecticut, who last won the Tri-State Matches in 2003 at the Kittansett Club, charged up the
leaderboard on Wednesday and nearly stole the trophy. 2016 Connecticut Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur
Dave Szewczul led the way for Connecticut, earning 5.5 out of a possible 6 points in singles play. John Flaherty
and Geoff Vartelas earned the most total points for the team at 9 points a piece.
32 | CSGA Links // October, 2016
www.csgalinks.org