By Mike Ramczyk
BROWN’S LAKE – The Union Grove boys varsity golf team may not win the Southern Lakes Conference championship this season, but the past week proved the Broncos are peaking at the right time.
The tandem of Eric Chambers and Sam Maier shot a 2-under 70, good for the low score, and the team finished first at Saturday’s Brown’s Lake Ryder Cup.
Union Grove’s score of 233 was 11 strokes ahead of second-place Wilmot (244).
The Broncos’ duo of Ben Maier and Justin Schuster placed third with a 77, edging Burlington’s Justin Meseberg and Danny Capozzi in a tiebreaker.
Wilmot’s Cody Faber and Zach Strasser took second individually with a 73.
Westosha Central’s Zach Kramer and Shawn Meyers placed fifth with a 78.
Waterford’s James Maney and Jake Decamp earned the Wolverines’ best score with a 81.
“We have a lot of depth,” said Sam Maier. “It’s the best team we’ve had in awhile. There’s a lot of experience.”
Can the Broncos win Wednesday’s SLC meet at Twin Lakes Country Club?
“Yes,” said Eric Chambers. “Hopefully, we can make state as a team.”
Follow Sports Editor Mike Ramczyk and Sports Reporter Jason Arndt on Twitter (@mikeramczyk17, @thejasonarndt) Wednesday for action from the SLC meet.
Boys make history May 5
Racine County bragging rights are officially awarded to the Union Grove boys golf team.
The Broncos defeated nine other Racine County schools on their way to winning the Racine County Invite for the first time in school history Thursday, May 5.
Union Grove (337) finished six strokes ahead of second place Racine St. Catherine’s to earn the championship.
“Obviously we are very happy with winning the team championship,” Union Grove golf coach Eric Swanson said. “This is the first time in school history that the boys have won the County, so it is a big deal for us.”
Junior Eric Chambers led the way for the Broncos with a third-place 79. Justin Meseberg of Burlington took home first place with a 73, two strokes better than William Buhler of Racine Horlick.
“Eric really put together a good back nine to overcome some struggles early,” Swanson said. “He’s really hitting the ball well right now and is close to putting together a great round very soon.”
Connor Brown had a pretty good round as well, finishing in eight place with an 84. Brown finished one stroke better than teammate Ben Maier, who shot an 85.
“I can’t say enough about the job Connor and Ben did,” Swanson said. “They struggled at the Southern Lakes Major the day before, so for them to come back today and play well on a tough course says a lot about the progress they’ve made.”
Justin Schuster (89) and Sam Maier (90) rounded out the top Bronco scorers with 16th– and 19th-place finishes respectively.
“The course was playing pretty tough today because it was very cold and windy at the beginning,” Swanson said. “A lot of good players struggled today, and we were certainly not exempt from this. But despite some rough patches, the guys still managed to put it together to shoot a respectable team score.”
The memorable Broncos’ performance came after a sluggish second-place effort at the Southern Lakes Major #3 at Evergreen Golf Course in Elkhorn on Wednesday, May 4.
Union Grove (346) finished 26 shots back of first-place Lake Geneva and just two strokes better than Westosha Central.
“Overall we did not play as well as we would have liked,” Swanson said. “We struggled on the greens a little and had a few big holes due to finding trouble. We managed to take second still, but we certainly could have played better.”
Chambers shot a team-best 84 on the day, which was good enough for seventh place on the individual leaderboard. Luke Bourneuf Lake Geneva Badger shot an individual best 74.
Sam Maier and Justin Schuster, meanwhile, each finished in 11th place with each shooting an 85.
Brown and Ben Maier each shot a 92 to round out the Bronco finishers.
“Overall I was pleased with the way we responded after not playing as well in the Southern Lakes Major,” Swanson said. “We still have plenty of work to do before we get to the postseason. We just need to continue to get better along the way.”
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