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HUNTINGTON -ÊAfter Saturday's Three Rivers Conference boys golf match ended, Tippecanoe Valley's players piled into their bus, where they sat silent for 20 minutes.
1999 has been a year where much has gone right for Tippecanoe Valley's golf team. The Vikings own a 9-1 record, and they are led by two sophomores, Drew Shafer and Andy Martin, who coach Roger Moriarty believes will play for Division I colleges.
Moriarty can think of two days this season he was disappointed with his team's performance.
Saturday at Huntington's Norwood Golf Club was one of those days.
The Vikings, undefeated in TRC regular season matches, entered as the favorite to win the TRC Tournament.
But they didn't. Rochester won the 18-hole tournament with a 327. Valley took second with a 331. Following the Vikings were Manchester (347), Northfield (350), Oak Hill (350), Whitko (351), Southwood (371) and North Miami (405).
By winning the tournament, Rochester was crowned the TRC champion.
"We're disappointed," Moriarty said. "We had beaten them all. Rochester has been up and down. They shot a 329 at LaVille, so they were capable.
"Rochester was the only one who had a chance to get us. They got us. It's a bitter pill to swallow."
The Vikings beat Rochester 173-179 in their first match of the season. While Rochester shot a 329 in the LaVille Invitational, the Zebras also shot a 361 in their invitational.
Shafer did his part for the Vikings, firing a 75 to take medalist honors. But the next two golfers, Martin and sophomore Brian Love, normally stalwarts, scuffled. Martin took a seven on one hole and a nine on another to finish with an 84. Love, who as a freshman recorded the third-best average in school history in 1998, shot a 99 in the No. 3 spot of the lineup.
"Brian never got settled," Moriarty said. "A 99 out of the third spot won't work. Drew Shafer shot a 75. That's normally where Andy is.
"We're pleased with Anthony Domenico. He played well and shot an 84."
Valley's other golfer, Brandon Eaton, shot an 88.
Asked why his team struggled, Moriarty said: "The greens were very, very hard. That turned the course into an equalizer.
"But that's not an excuse. We didn't play to our capability."
They didn't, and they thought about this on the bus after the match ended.
"I told the boys, this is something we want to think about for the sectional," Moriarty said. "There will be five good teams at the sectional. Two won't get out (to regional). We don't want to feel this way again.
"If this was a lesson, we don't want to have to learn anymore lessons this year."
At Norwood Golf Club in Huntington
Team results - 1. Rochester 327, 2. Tippecanoe Valley 331, 3. Manchester 347, 4. Northfield 350, 5. Oak Hill 350, 6. Whitko 351, 7. Southwood 371, 8. North Miami 405
Tippecanoe Valley scores - Drew Shafer 75, Andy Martin 84, Anthony Domenico 84, Brandon Eaton 88, Brian Love 99
Manchester scores -ÊRyan Burton 78, Evan Schenkel 87, Derek Miller 90, Michael Good 92, Tony Ritenour 99
Whitko scores -ÊRob Wright 80, Shane Henderson 80, Levi Krider 89, Mike Waybright 102, J.R. Manuel 104
Top individual scores -Ê1. Shafer (TV) 75, 2. Mike Coplen (ROCH) 78, 3. Burton (MAN) 78, 4. Tyler Wilson (OH) 80, 5. Rob Wright (WHI) 80, 6. Shane Henderson (WHI) 80, 7. Jason Draper (NF) 80, 8. Ryan Steele (ROCH) 81
