Due to their stellar performances on the field and in the classroom, Salem senior Ethan Doyle and Saugus senior Gabby Surette have been named the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for the month of November.
Doyle, an all-star for the Witches each of the last four years, capped off his high school golf career with his best season to date. In a shortened season with 13 matches played, Doyle held a scoring average of 35.5 — which is 1/2 shot over par on his home course of Olde Salem Greens — and had a match-play scoring average of 6.3 points per match. Doyle, who was named Northeastern Conference MVP last season as a junior, shot 2-under 33 four times during the season. This year, he was named the Player of the Year in golf by both The Daily Item and The Salem News.
“I think the biggest thing for me this year was the preparation before the season,” said Doyle, who also plays basketball and baseball at Salem. “I played pretty much every day this summer with guys from the team and with my dad (Salem golf/basketball coach Tom Doyle), and I think that really helped me get better. I got off to a tough start, but I was able to regroup and finish the year strong.”
To cap off his season, Doyle competed in the National High School Golf Association (NHSGA) Massachusetts Golf Championships at Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard. With his score of 2-over 74, which put him in a tie for eighth place out of more than 100 golfers, he qualified for the 2021 NHSGA Boys National Invitational. The Boys Invitational — a 3-day, 54-hole stroke play event that includes both team and individual competition — will be played June 28-30 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.
“That was very exciting because my dad really knows that course well and we were able to put together a strategy to work with,” said Doyle. “I double-bogeyed the first hole, but I ended up playing great down the stretch and getting top 10.”
And it’s not just on the course where Doyle is thriving. With a 3.5 GPA, Doyle is a member of the National Honor Society and also serves as a peer mentor for the underclassmen at Salem High.
“When your dad is in school every day (as a teacher and a coach), it definitely makes you focus on your schoolwork as well as athletics,” Doyle said. “But it also has a lot to do with being a team captain. You really want to set an example for the other guys and make sure you’re keeping up on your work so everyone else follows along.”
For Surette, getting to play at all in her 2020 field hockey season was a bit of a surprise considering the state of affairs in Saugus with regard to COVID-19.
“Considering the fact that we were in the red for most of the season and we were doing remote learning, a lot of us weren’t sure we were even going to be able to play this year,” said Surette, who has been a four-year player at goalie for the Sachems. “We were surprised when we got the go-ahead, and we really tried to take advantage of our chance to play.”
Surette, a two-time team captain for the field hockey team, certainly took advantage of her playing time, logging an impressive 35 saves per game and earning Item All-Star honors.
“If it wasn’t for Gabby, the scores against us would have been much higher,” said Saugus field hockey coach Barbara Guarente. “Not only is she one of the area’s best performing goalies, she’s also highly respected by our opponents, officials and her teammates.”
And if you think Surette takes her time on the field seriously, just ask her about her schoolwork and her grades.
“I take schoolwork the most seriously out of everything,” said Surette. “Balancing my schoolwork and sports has always been something I’ve had to do, and this year was definitely a challenge because of dealing with things like college applications on top of everything.”
But Surette has made it over that hump, getting accepted to a number of colleges as her field hockey season came to a close. Now, it’s time to sit back, choose her next step and potentially prepare to play softball for the Sachems in the spring.
“It’s definitely an honor to be chosen for an award like this, especially after I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to play this fall,” said Surette. “It’s nice to be recognized for the hard work that went into this season.”