Wood’s Repasky Takes 2nd

Posted: October 15, 2014
From Star staff reports

WINCHESTER — Sherando sophomore Brett Loy won the first individual state golf title in the history of the area’s five local schools and James Wood senior Roger Repasky tied for second at the rain-shortened Group 4A state tournament Tuesday at Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest.

Loy — who led after Monday’s first round with an even-par 72 — only got to play one hole Tuesday before the rain came shortly after 10 a.m. and wiped out the rest of the tournament.

Each golfer’s score on the first hole was added to their score from Monday. Loy’s par on the first hole gave him a total of 76 for the tournament, which allowed him to edge Repasky (73 Monday, 77 total) and Jamestown’s Emily Salamy (73 Monday, 77).

“I’ve been working pretty hard to achieve this, and I definitely had some help from my parents and friends,” said Loy in a phone interview Tuesday. “It meant a lot that my parents and grandparents were there with me.

“I didn’t realize that no one from our school had won a state title until Coach [Rob] Wright told me. It’s pretty cool.”

Sherando won a team state title in 1998. Individually, the previous best finishes in a state tournament from the five area schools since 1963 were achieved by Handley’s Rob Warren in 1994 and the Judges’ Park Plumley in 1965.

After shooting a 2-under 70 to take second on Oct. 6 at the 4A North Region tournament — also at Ivy Hill — Loy said he felt good about his chances coming into the state tournament.

“Being a lefty, the course sets up well for draws,” Loy said. “The course layout really allowed me to play my best.”

Loy did his best on the par-3s, birdieing three of the four on a course that was lengthened about 500 yards to 7,200 yards from the region tournament. (The 18th hole was changed from a par-4 to a par-3, and the seventh hole was changed from a par-4 to a par-5.) In addition to the 18th, Loy — who started at the 10th hole Monday — also birdied the fourth and 15th holes, rolling in putts between 30 and 35 feet on both of them. Loy also birdied the par-5 16th hole.

“The course was pretty wet Monday, so I thought I shot pretty well considering it was dry conditions and a shorter course than last week,” said Loy, who often had to use longer clubs this week. “I had some bad wedge shots, but I was able to get up and down a few times.”

Loy’s second day seemed like it would be a promising one as well, as Wright noted that Loy reached the green in two on the par-4 first hole after not having previously done so in competition or practice rounds at Ivy Hill, and Loy also had two strong shots to start his second hole before the rain came.

With puddles on the course and the rain still falling hard after more than two hours, the decision was made to discontinue the rest of the tournament.

“If there was someone who was real disappointed he didn’t get to finish, it was Brett,” Wright said. “He was glad he won, but he really wanted to finish it out on the golf course today. That was his competitiveness. He told me [Monday] night he was ready.”

Loy did not qualify for last year’s state tournament, but Wright said he thought a state title was in reach for Loy this year.

“Last year when he did not make it to states, you wouldn’t believe the look on his face and the determination that put inside of him, just to make sure he made it this year,” Wright said. “And then once he made it, then he could really take off.

“The work he put in in the offseason and during the summer, the tournaments and the hours off the course were all leading to today. He told me ‘Two more and our work will be done,’ so he’s already looking ahead to next year. He seems to thrive on competition and he was rewarded today.”

Because he shot a 10 on the 14th hole at the 4A North Region tournament, Repasky was in serious danger of not qualifying for the state tournament. But he parred the last four holes and picked up the last qualifying spot with a 79.

“Golf’s more mental than any other sport, and I just told myself that it was my senior year and I had to finish strong,” Repasky said.

Repasky carried the momentum of those last four holes to this week, and he felt that the longer layout played to his strength. Starting at the 10th hole, he picked the perfect times to get his two birdies — he birdied his first hole to get his confidence going, and his last to give him something good to feel about heading into Tuesday. Repasky sank a 25-foot putt on the par-3 ninth to close.

“I felt really good [Tuesday] and thought I had a chance to do well,” Repasky said.

He only got in the one hole, but added it meant a great deal to get second place, the best in school history, and have his parents there to see it.

“They’ve been with me every step of the way,” Repasky said.

James Wood coach David Oates said he couldn’t be more proud of what Repasky has accomplished this year, particularly the last two tournaments.

“Probably 99 percent of kids who put up a [10 like he did at regionals], they would have quit,” Oates said. “He played great and we got a second chance.

“He’s worked extremely hard on his game. We went down on Sunday [for a practice round] and he was playing so well and so relaxed, it was at that point that I realized he could possibly do something. Right before they teed off on Monday, I went to Coach Wright and said I thought our boys could do something really special. And they did.

“Roger’s got a little bit of a knack when the lights are brightest, that’s when he can bring his game. And he definitely proved that the last two weeks.”

More holes were played by golfers whose teams qualified for the state tournament, because they took the course an hour earlier. Each golfer from those teams got in four holes, so a team’s best score based on those holes was added to the first day score to determine the team standings.

In the team competition, Jamestown took first with a four-player score of 377 (a first day 312 and a second-day 61), Jefferson Forest was second with 385, Charlottesville was third with 394 and Glen Allen was fourth with 408.

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