His team picked up two victories and improved to 15-0 Tuesday at Rozella Ford Golf Club, but Triton coach Jack Carpenter didn't seemed too pleased.
Shooting a 159, the Triton Trojans were better than Bremen's 175 and Tippecanoe Valley's 176, but Carpenter had hoped for something a little better than the scores he saw.Junior Griffyn Carpenter led the Trojans with a 37, followed by freshman Ryan Rapp's 40, a pair of 41s from freshman Quentyn Carpenter and junior Taran Kennedy, as well as a 42 out of sophomore Chandler Slone.
"Other than Griffyn (Carpenter), I'm not pleased at all with the other four players," Carpenter said. "I have five players on varsity, that playing on their home course, should all be in the 30s. While we won, it's a disappointment with the score. We should be playing our best golf going into the week of sectional. Instead, we play our worst round since a 161 in our first match."
Carpenter didn't know what the problem was with his team, but course management was one thing that stuck out in his mind.
"At Hole 6 and Hole 9, it's being ahead of the hole," Carpenter said. "You can't do that with the way the pins are placed and when the greens are fast. You have to stay below the hole. These kids should be smart enough. They play here and should know that course management kind of stuff."
One kid that did understand how to play the course was Bremen's Max Kipfer, who shot three-under on the par-35 front-nine.
"I was just hitting the ball great," Kipfer said. "I was hitting a lot of greens and just putting really well."
Kipfer finished his round without any bogeys and three birdies, making his experience at Rozella Ford a good one.
"Quick greens and they were easy to putt on," Kipfer said. "They were true and it was a nice course. I like it a lot."
Without Kipfer's phenomenal round, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings (8-5) may have picked up their ninth win of the year, but couldn't.
"Anytime you lose by one stroke, you can find it anywhere," Valley coach Roger Moriarty said of falling to 15-7 Bremen.
"This course is not that difficult if you play it," he added. "If you don't play it, there's so many areas you can get in trouble in. That's what I think my kids did tonight."
All of Moriarty's players finished in the 40s, led by Caleb Rovenstine's 42, followed by Bray Swihart's 44, Ted Shepherd and Taylor Breeden's 45s and Kevin Summe's 46.
As the season winds down, all three teams are preparing for the June 5 Warsaw Sectional at Stonehenge Golf Club.
"We're in the same position we were in last year," Moriarty said. "We're playing in the second group (at the sectional). I always tell my guys, 'When we finish, we want to be in first place.' Then, there's got to be three teams out of that last six that have to beat us. If we play well, we're capable of putting up a good number."
The Trojans will be among the favorites to place in the top three at Stonehenge, therefore advancing to the Homestead Regional at Orchard Ridge Country Club.
"The four (favored) schools will probably be Warsaw, CMA, us and Wawasee," Carpenter said. "If we play like we should, those four schools should separate themselves from the others, because those schools have the best depth. Warsaw is going to be very, very difficult to beat at Stonehenge, because they are so solid. From 1-10, they are dynamite."
Both the Tigers and Trojans feature young, undefeated teams, and Carpenter likes his chances.
"We have tremendous depth," he said. "My six and seven guys are pretty good players as well. One through five could be my medalist, and we've been consistent. When one guy's had a poor round, someone's there to pick him up. Tonight, it was Griffyn shooting a 37, that maybe picks up his brother (Quentyn) that shoots a 41."
Valley will be at the LaVille Invitational at Mystic Hills Golf Club in Culver Saturday, while Triton will join Warsaw at the Lafayette Jefferson Invitational Saturday.
