Greensburg CC, Fox Chapel, Sewickley Academy win PIAA team golf titles

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 | 5:59 PM

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YORK — Is a three-peat in order for the Greensburg Central Catholic girls golf team?

If sophomores Meghan and Ella Zambruno and junior Angelika Dewicki have something to say about it, the answer is yes.

Greensburg Central Catholic won its second consecutive PIAA Class AA team title on Wednesday at Heritage Hills Golf Resort by shooting a 248 and edging District 10 champion Hickory, which finished with 252.

Meghan Zambruno, who earned a fifth-place medal Tuesday in the individual tournament, led the way by shooting a 5-over-par 77. Twin sister Ella shot 11-over 83 and Dewicki 15-over 88.

“I played much better than Tuesday,” Meghan Zambruno said. “I still struggled with my putting.”

Meghan Zambruno shot a 1-over 37 on the front.

“We all pulled together as a team,” Dewicki said. “It was really stressful the last few holes for all three of us. We were playing against the players from Hickory and didn’t know how they were playing.”

With six holes left, Hickory held a two-shot lead on GCC.

“We all knew we had to do our best,” Ella Zambruno said.

Dewicki said this title is different from last year’s title because it’s a totally different team.

“This is our title,” Dewicki said. “It’s definitely a lot more special.”

Greensburg Central Catholic finished second in 2015-17. In the PIAA girls tournament, teams are allowed to play five players and count three scores. The other two players for GCC were Olivia Kana and Abby Lint.

After receiving their medals and the team trophy, the players and coach Gerry Police jumped into a lake next to No. 9 green.

“I told the girls if they jumped in, I would too,” Police said.

Greensburg Central Catholic was one of three WPIAL teams to win titles.

Fox Chapel won the Class AAA boys championship with a PIAA record score of 284. A distant second was Cumberland Valley with a 308.

The Foxes were led by Aiden Oehrle and Scott Bitar, each shooting a 2-under par 69. Will Livingston shot his career best, a 1-over 72 and Matt Mattioli had a 3-over 74.

The boys’ tournament plays five players and counts four scores.

“I was disappointed with my performance in the individual tournament, but I’m extremely pleased with what I did today,” Bitar said. “Winning the team tournament was more important.”

It was a special moment for Fox Chapel coach Bryan Deal and Oehrle and Livingston. They were involved in a serious car accident along with teammates Gregor Meyer (2019) and Andrew Friend (2018) on the eve of the WPIAL team championship in 2017.

“Thank God for the opportunity he provided us and them,” Deal said. “Thank God the four survived and for Aiden and Will to participate.”

The Class AA boys tournament was a lot closer as Sewickley Academy edged Scranton Prep, 320-321.

Senior J.F. Aber led Sewickley with a 6-over 77 and Tim Fitzgerald followed with an 8-over 79.

The other scores counted were Joey Mucci with an 81 and Navin Rana with an 83.

“We were down 15 strokes after six holes and 10 after nine,” Aber said. “We just kept chipping away. On the back nine, we just fought and were able to win. It’s a great feeling to win the title again.”

Sewickley Academy was the PIAA champion in 2017.

In Class AAA, the Upper St. Clair girls finished tied for second with Hershey at 247, six shots behind Mount St. Joseph’s.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.