PEABODY — Behind an under-par performance from Matt Weed and a host of other strong showings, the Marblehead golf team got its 2021 season off to a great start by taking home a 42-30 win over Northeastern Conference foe Peabody on the road at The Meadow at Peabody Golf Course Tuesday afternoon.
Weed had the performance of the day on both sides, winning his match 6-3 after shooting a score of 1-under 35 and making birdies on the fifth and seventh holes. He was backed up by a strong outing from Charlie Grenier, who shot a 39 and won his match 5-4. Chris Locke (5-4), Jacob Hershfield (5-4), Adrian Baron (7-2) and Chris Cannuscio (6-3) all won their respective matches, while Jack Sontz tied his match 4 1/2-4 1/2.
On the Peabody side, it was an uphill battle from the start. In addition to having a younger and more inexperienced lineup than Marblehead, the Tanners also went into their first match without head coach Peter Cronan, who tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday. Scott Meyers, who serves as an assistant coach on the Peabody boys soccer team, stepped in to fill the role on Tuesday.
“It was a very encouraging start to the year for us, because I remember last year when we played Marblehead we had a hard time even getting to 20 points,” said Cronan, who is also the head golf professional at The Meadow. “Our guys are still really young, so to see them come out and put up a good performance in the first match, that bodes well for the rest of the year.”
For the Tanners, the lone win of the day came from No. 5 player Michael Petro, who won 6-3. Jacob Richards tied his match 4 1/2-4 1/2 in the No. 8 spot. While the top part of the lineup didn’t come away with any wins, Peabody’s top four players Ryan Brunet (3-6), Matt Ryder (4-5), Mike Ryan (4-5) and Matt Richards (4-5) all put up solid performances.
“Our guys had to go up against some really good players (Tuesday), and they held their own,” said Cronan. “For Ryan to only lose 6-3 to a kid who shot 1-under and for Matt Ryder to fall 5-4 to a kid who shot 39, that’s impressive. They may not have gotten wins, but they played really well.”
Neither team will have much time to rest and think about this one, as both are scheduled to be back in action Thursday. Marblehead (1-0) is set to host Lynn Classical at Tedesco Country Club, while Peabody (0-1) will go on the road to face Gloucester at Bass Rocks Golf Club.
But with rain threatening to cancel all matches on Thursday, both teams may be off until Sept. 9 — which would give Cronan enough time to get back to the team after his COVID diagnosis.
“Our goal is to just keep building as the year goes on,” said Cronan. “We still have an incredibly young team, and I think we’re going to be able to rack up a few wins this year after all of our improvements.”