Blue Devil Girls’ Golf Tees Off

Huntington High School’s new varsity girls’ golf team is off to a great start with nearly two dozen golfers joining in on the fun.

The Blue Devils are coached by Michael Marinello, a longtime Huntington UFSD physical education teacher, department coordinator and the varsity boys’ golf coach. Marinello is an avid golfer himself and he brings decades of experience to his position. He is being assisted by volunteers Robert Colvin, Michele Kustera and Jenna Merget.

The roster includes freshmen Giovanna Lanfranco, Jessica Lee and Claire Parks; sophomore Isabella Careccia-Johnson; juniors Jane Callery, Emersen Evans, Abigail Hopson, Sophie Lange, Lily Mitek, Brooke Parks and Hannah Song; and seniors Talia Addeo, Kate Balm, Victoria Befumo, McKenna Buffa, Quinn Fox, Isabella Lanfranco, Daniela Luca, Markella Markotsis, Renee McKean, Leah Sheran, Stephanie Wickey and Anna Bell Young.

The team practiced indoors for several weeks while the weather warmed up. Marinello set up the corrective gym/wrestling room with various electronic training devices that helped the golfers work on their swings. There were other areas devoted to the short game, including putting.

The Huntington girls’ golf team’s first ever match was a somewhat surprisingly competitive contest as Claire and Brooke Parks both edged their opponents and Quinn Fox notched a tie. The Blue Devils lost the match by cumulative total of just five strokes.

“I have been playing golf since I was about 10 years old, once or twice a year when I visited my grandparents in Florida,” Brooke Parks said. “I was able to get the general basics of golf down over that time. When I joined the golf team, Mr. Marinello and all the coaches helped me get much better and gave me many helpful tips on how to improve my skills. At our first match against Bay Shore, both Claire and I won our matches and as a team we only lost by five strokes, which is impressive considering we are a new team! We all have so much fun at practice and are learning so much! I am very excited to see how the season goes and to continue to get better.”

The Blue Devils have had practice rounds at Dix Hills golf course and utilized the driving range at Crab Meadow golf course. Huntington Country Club pro and PGA member James Smoot recently presented the team with a clinic on the short game.

“I’ve been interested in golf since I was a kid and have been playing about two times a year throughout my childhood,” Claire Parks said. “To me, playing golf is a timeless sport that is fun and something you can build lifelong friendships from. I love playing golf and getting advice from all the coaches, which have greatly improved my game. Although our team lost our first match, everyone played really well and we only lost by five strokes. Brooke and I both won our match up which was very exciting! Over the course of just a few weeks our team is doing great!”