Rangers Golf Team Reloads

The  Westborough High School golf team won its league championship last fall, and then lost four members -- including its best golfer --to graduation in June.

"But, our motto here in Westborough has always been, 'We don't rebuild. We always reload,'" said Greg Rota, who's in his 18th year as the Rangers' head coach.

Westborough's season opener is against Marlborough at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Westborough Country Club.

"Marlborough's always good, because they'got a really tough course that they play over there," Rota said.

"The pro is the coach, so the kids get a lot of attention."

Westborough finished 2012 as league champions, and finished third in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Division 1 championships.

That Westborough roster included 2013  seniors Mike Rodenbush, who was the Rangers number one; Jack Bernatchez, John Stanton and Kevin Van Dam, Rota said.

This year's team will be led by sophomore Jeff Arnold, whom Rota ranks at number one.

"He's an all-around player," Rota said.

"He's probably his own worst critic. He's very hard on himself. He pushes himself harder than anybody can push him. Just yesterday, he was upset he made a bad chip shot over here on seven. I told him, 'It's the game of golf. You're going to make thousands of bad shots over your career. You can't get upset over every single one of them."

Senior Nic Ross is ranked at two.

"Nic is a great driver. He strikes the ball really well, and gets a lot of distance on his drives. And he has a great short game," Rota said.

Junior Gavin Wilsker is ranked at three after spending the off-season attending many clinics and lessons, Rota said.

"Talking with people here, they said, 'Whenever you went by this golf course, he was out there.' And it shows," Rota said.

Senior Sam DiOrio is ranked at four.

"He scores well. Whenever we play in a high-stakes match, I'm always using one of his scores," Rota said.

"He's always one of those kids who's right in the hunt.  He plays real smart golf. Hits the ball right down the middle. Doesn't get into too much trouble."

And junior Joe Bernatchez is ranked at five, also reflecting hard work during the off-season, Rota said.

"He shot a 40 in practice the other day. When your number five golfer is shooting a 40, you're going to win a lot of matches," Rota said.

The roster is:

• Seniors: Nic Ross, Sam DiOrio, Max Foy, Joe Aronson
• Juniors: Gavin Wilsker, Joe Bernatchez, Jack Pierce, Sam Lehman, Brendan Shunney, James Fotos
• Sophomores: Jeff Arnold, Cailean Duckett
• Freshmen: Cooper Arnold, Ben Hopkinson, James Coffey