Westfield State returned men's varsity golf to its sport offerings in 2008, but in 10 short years the Owls program has become the class of the league and features a roster of competitive players shooting scores in the low 70s.

The Owls have won three of four tournaments in the fall season, and narrowly missed defending their Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title in the final fall meet, falling to Springfield College by just six strokes in the two-day event.

Seniors Ryan Koczela (Bridgewater, Mass./ Bridgewater Raynham) and Garrett Desmond (Beverly, Mass.) and junior Matteo Godek (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) have all won individual tournament titles in the past two years, while sophomore J.J. Newcombe (Billerica, Mass.) nearly matched that feat at last week's conference tournament, tying for the top spot before falling in a playoff.

"We got blessed with a good group, Me, Garrett, Matteo," said Koczela. "We've been solid; we practice almost every day together.  Sometimes we'll play with the freshmen to see how their doing."

"We always knew this five this year were good, solid players," said Desmond. "We're definitely a close knit group, we're all kind of the same type of guy.  We hang out on the weekends too.  But we have grown into believing in each other, we've worked hard to reach our complete potential."

"We came into this year thinking we could win every tournament," said Koczela.

The Owls program has expanded and heightened its competition level over the past few years.  This season, the MASCAC added five affiliate members to become a nine team conference – which puts the league on track to have a NCAA automatic qualifier for the team champion. After a mandatory two-year waiting period, the conference will be eligible with the AQ during the 2021-2022 season.

Westfield State originally had golf as a varsity sport in the 70's and 80s, but the program was victim of drastic state budget cuts that reshaped Owls' athletics in 1990.

The first generation of Owls golf saw success under legendary coach John Kurty, who was both a Westfield State and New England Hall of Fame soccer coach, and was a standout golfer as a one-time course record holder at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield.

While Kurty's best team once featured three NCAA qualifying athletes in the 1987-88 season, one qualified opinion thinks the current group is even better.

"We were not as good as your team is right now," said Kevin Piecuch, a Westfield State Athletic Hall of Famer and the club pro at Greenfield Country Club, who follows the team's results.  Piecuch qualified for the NCAA's along with Pat Rahilly and Dean Godek, the father of current Owl Matteo Godek.

Westfield claimed the MASCAC title in 2013 and again in 2018.  Mike Sarkis '18 won the individual title in the spring of 2017.

"Our freshman year our team was decent – I think we only won one tournament," said Koczela. "But Mike Sarkis would always shoot 76 or better and everyone else was shooting 80s."

"He set the tone," interjects Desmond.  

"But we knew we had to step up and shoot 75's or lower every tournament," said Koczela.  "Sophomore year we added Matteo, and last year we added J.J .(Newcombe) and (Michael) Waldman, though we graduated Nick Eliopoulos '19."

"(Nick) really had a passion for golf and tried to let us know we could go far with this," said Desmond, who caddies at Kernwood Country Club in Salem, Mass and grew up playing golf with Eliopoulos. 

"After my freshman year, each summer, I have tried to play more golf.  this summer was the most I had played," said Koczela. I tried to play every single day, and Garrett and I have tried to this fall as well.  If you don't play for three days you lose a little bit. Sometimes we have class until 3:30, but even if it's just chip and putt or hit a bucket."

"I call those two guys the architects of our recent success," said Westfield State coach Rich Sutter.  "Both are great players and are totally invested in our program."

The Owls' home course at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield is literally just down the hill from Westfield State – so close that the original Donald Ross routing had several holes on the south side of Route 20 – before the land was bought by the Stanhome Corporation, and is now ultimately the Horace Mann Center – Westfield State's administration building which houses the admissions office and other departments. 

"Sometimes as a finance major with senior classes, we have to take them when their offered," said Desmond.   While the Owls try to practice each day at 2:00 p.m. as a group, sometimes class schedules or tournaments at the course dictate otherwise.

"Tekoa does their best to get us out," said Desmond. "Whatever time we get there, and we're able to work around schedules, and coach will be from the first guys at 2:00 p.m. until we go 3:30 to 5."

Wetsfield State men's basketball coach Rich Sutter doubles as the golf coach.

"He's more of a basketball coach," said Desmond. "Awesome guy, love to play for him.  He loves our team."

But Sutter also brings a unique laid-back style to the program, while showing confidence in his players.

 "He's different from a lot of the other coaches who spend a lot of time alongside their players during the round, but I don't mind, I don't like getting much advice during a round while I'm playing," said Koczela, a math and education major who honed his game at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville.

"He's who you would want as a coach, he's pretty low key with us," said Desmond.  "He's always positive with us, that aspect he's perfect. He fires us up and applauds what we do, and he thinks his team's the best in the MASCAC and that's what it should be."

"MASCAC commissioner Angela Baumann told me I was 'unrecognizable' to her at a golf match," said Sutter, who's known for being fiery and animated on the sideline in a basketball game.  "I found out how to recruit in golf," added Sutter.  "It's a little bit different than basketball. You just try to bring in better players."

 "The last thing I want to do is put a bad swing thought in a player's head before they go out in a match," said Sutter. "To me it's more about repetition and competition, and these guys will go after each other in practice pretty good.  They like to compete, and we'll mix it up in practices, with Ryder Cup, match play, scrambles to keep it fresh and they want to beat each other."

"We pretty much play nine holes every day," said Koczela. "There's a lot of player-to-player relationship to work on our swings because we know each other so well."

This spring will be the last go-round for the two Owls seniors, Koczela and Desmond.

"The success - coming out of high school I didn't expect that we would be this good," said Koczela when asked for the highlights. "And definitely meeting Garrett, Matteo, everybody.  If I didn't play golf who knows if I'd have built as good of friendships. Golf brought me to know people, and now I know their friends too. It's more of social thing, but its competitive and fun, and since we have been so good it's been extremely fun.  This spring will be the last tournaments for both of us, we will try to win another individual title.  It's always tough in the spring when the weather changes, we want to keep the streak going and end on a high note."

"It's definitely bittersweet that its coming to an end," said Desmond. "I've been closer with this team than my high school team.   We've all grown into adults, so there's a lot of other things that come with it that's not just golf.  We definitely want to end on a high note."