Union-Endicott repeats at STAC golf tournament; Tigers' Dante Bertoni wins individual

Andrew Legare, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
·4 min read

Dante Bertoni and his Union-Endicott teammates closed dominant fall golf seasons Tuesday afternoon by sweeping the titles at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference championship tournament at Elmira's Mark Twain Golf Course.

Bertoni, a junior, was individual champion with an even-par 72, one stroke better than runner-up Trevor Warpus of Chenango Forks. Johnson City's Ryan Fendick was a distant third with a 78 on a day in which greens were tricky and fog greeted players for the morning shotgun start.

Bertoni's effort helped U-E repeat as STAC team champion. U-E finished with a team total of 412. Corning, the only team to beat the Tigers this season, placed second with a score of 436. Vestal was three strokes behind Corning in third place.

Union-Endicott completes sweep of 18-hole tourneys

Individual winner Dante Bertoni of Union-Endicott hits his approach shot on the ninth hole at Elmira's Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. Bertoni shot an even-par 72.
Individual winner Dante Bertoni of Union-Endicott hits his approach shot on the ninth hole at Elmira's Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. Bertoni shot an even-par 72.

The Tigers capped a season in which they posted a 12-1 record in dual matches and also won the Section 4 Class A tournament and the DiNunzio Tournament at the start of the season.

"To win three 18-hole championships in a row is unbelievable," Tigers coach Matt Morley said. "It just says something about these guys. They keep wanting more."

Bertoni said he was especially happy for the seniors on a team he described as extremely close and with a collectively strong work ethic.

"We do all the things together and it just makes us that much better," he said.

Bertoni will be joined by teammates Christian Macan, Dylan Mollo, Drew Karades and Matt Folli at the spring sectional qualifier. The state tournament will return to Mark Twain Golf Course on June 4-5, 2023. Other leagues in Section 4 and across the state play their golf seasons in the spring.

Bertoni finishes under par this season

Individual winner Dante Bertoni of Union-Endicott putts at Elmira's Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. He shot an even-par 72.
Individual winner Dante Bertoni of Union-Endicott putts at Elmira's Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. He shot an even-par 72.

Bertoni, who tied for 13th at the 2021-22 New York state championships at Mark Twain in June, finished 2 under par for this season. He also topped the field at the DiNunzio and sectional tournaments.

"That's crazy good," Morley said of Bertoni's season scoring. "Proud of him and he works so hard and it's paying off."

Bertoni said the STAC individual title means a lot and he's hoping to earn a repeat next year.

More:A closer look at Bertoni's brilliant junior season

A chip on the third hole led to a tap-in birdie Tuesday, getting his round off to a strong start. A bogey followed, but another quality shot led to a second birdie. Bertoni finished with three birdies and three bogeys.

"I felt like I played pretty good," he said. "I had a three-putt on the 17th hole, which kind of hurt. But otherwise I felt like I played pretty solid."

About the conditions

There were a couple holes that produced numerous high scores and a lot more putts than players would have liked.

"It was tough," Bertoni said. "Greens were tough, pin locations were tough. Greens were pretty fast. They're usually not, but fought through it, kept my composure and made it through."

Warpus led rest of the field

Trevor Warpus of Chenango Forks was runner-up at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. He shot a 1-over-par 73.
Trevor Warpus of Chenango Forks was runner-up at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022. He shot a 1-over-par 73.

Given the conditions and his score, Forks senior Warpus produced the type of round that would have been worthy of first place were it not for Bertoni's presence.

Fendick was the only other player to break 80, with U-E's Mollo fourth with an 81 and Elmira's Ben Rhode and Corning's Nishant Lahiri tying for fifth with 82s.

Vestal's Logan Kim and Oneonta's Aidan Gelbsman each fired an 83, and Horseheads' Jacob Staats grabbed the final medal with an 84 for ninth place.

Corning excelled in 2022

Corning's Nishant Lahiri putts on the 18th hole at Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022.
Corning's Nishant Lahiri putts on the 18th hole at Mark Twain Golf Course during the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championships Oct. 11, 2022.

Lahiri's effort was the capping touch on an excellent season for Corning. Along with the win over U-E, the Hawks captured the STAC West title.

Lahiri will be joined by teammates Will Davis, Luke Mayfield and Jack Creath at the spring sectional tournament. Players earn berths based on scoring average.

STAC golf tournament scores

Union-Endicott (412): Dante Bertoni 72, Dylan Mollo 81, Drew Karedes 85, Danny Crowley 86, Matt Folli 88, Jake Karades 91.

Corning (436): Nishant Lahiri 82, Will Davis 86, Luke Mayfield 86, Jack Creath 90, Sam Masaki 92, Aaron Giaconia 104.

Vestal (439): Logan Kim 83, Bennett Snyder 87, Justin Alvord 87, Ethan Davis 90, Evan Myers 92, Nolan Karski 99.

Chenango Forks (460): Trevor Warpus 73, Cade Mulesky 93, John Maus 98, Bauer Maus 98, Joey Worden 98, Jack Hull 115.

Norwich (497): Braden Reid 93, Jacob Morris 97, Julien Smith 98, Aiden Stafford 104, Jacob Dowdall 105, Logan Waters 119.

Seton Catholic Central (499): Evan Wenzinger 86, Joseph Tiderencel 97, Chad Haykal 102, Ashton McCann 104, Luke Stanton 110, Thomas D'Onofrio 115.

Incomplete teams

Binghamton: Sam Ligas 95, Jack Ligas 96.

Johnson City: Ryan Fendick 78, Cooper Iannon 90.

Maine-Endwell: Tino Shattuck 85, Blaise Brixner 86, Joey Dell 89, Jake King 94.

Elmira: Ben Rhode 82, Brady Magliocca 85, Bobby Cavalier 94, Cooper Taft 97.

Horseheads: Jacob Staats 84, Josh Holden 94.

Ithaca: JT Thomforde 88, Rowan Hinrichsen 96.

Oneonta: Aidan Gelbsman 83, Matthew Rigas 98.

Susquehanna Valley: Isaac Spottek 104, Will Kumpon 118.

Windsor: Dylan Terrell 104, Gaven Lang 105, Alex Medovich 125.

Chenango Valley: Madden Michalko 92, Jonah Rice 97.

Owego: Patrick Tammariello 93, Peyton Farrell 98.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Recap and scores of STAC golf tournament at Mark Twain