Posted: May 10, 2010 |(0) Comments

This is how you earn your pay as a high school golf coach.

First you make sure you have umbrellas to loan out to forgetful players on rainy days, and then you make sure you have rain pants for players who desperately need them on even wetter days, and then you make sure, if you're playing an 18-hole tournament on a soggy afternoon, that you have dry towels to hand out to your players at the turn.

Nicolet golf coach Ted Wachs had all these things in place on Friday at the monsoon-like Port Washington Invitational at Hawthorne Hills. And then he had one more thing in reserve.

A trip to Tomaso's Italian Restaurant in Cedarburg that celebrated the Knights' victory in the 15-team event.

"The world's greatest pizza," Wachs laughed. "I had to give it to the guys after all they went through, because when you win, it makes playing in miserable conditions a lot more fun."

Nicolet, which won its second invite title of the season with the victory at Port, will be at the Whitefish Bay Invitational on Friday at Brown Deer golf course.

The Knights turned in a five-man, 18-hole total of 414, which tied New Berlin West for the title. Wachs laughed again as he noted that his guys actually wanted to go out and contest a real playoff despite the 40-degree temperatures and steady rain. Instead, meet officials went by WIAA rules in breaking the tie, using the scorecards, with marks at the nine-hole mark determining the winner.

"They were really disappointed," Wachs chuckled. "They said 'Coach, we should have a playoff!' "

Brown Deer, which has been competitive all spring in the Woodland Conference was a strong third in the sloshfest with a 439 total.

"My God was that something," said Falcons coach Andy Bauschelt. "We really didn't know what to expect. All the coaches were saying 'It could be bad,' but the kids really stuck to it and played well."

The Falcons will be at the Greendale Invitational on Friday at Morningstar.

Nicolet used balance to gain the win, putting four players in the top 10, as Noah Hersch was fifth (81), Robby Bamberger sixth (82), while Ben Harvey and David Kerns tied for seventh (83). Aaron Sandock completed the scoring with an 85.

"I like all five of my guys," said Wachs. "In fact, sometimes the most difficult thing is making the cut at five, because we're so deep and competitive on this team. The pressure in practice (to make the first five) really helps them in meets and on a good day, all of them can shoot in the 70s."

Brown Deer endured thanks to a pair of 85s by juniors Sam Kuchenreuther and Brett Youngbeck while senior Eric Seonbuchner also contributed. Bauschelt said that freshman David Bach, who is the Woodland Conference top 10 individually along with teammates Kuchenreuther and Seonbuchner, is going to be something special.

"He has the golf sickness," Bauschelt said of Bach's passion. The Falcons won a Woodland mini-meet on May 4.

Passion and endurance were required of the players, as the Port meet was contested on a day when the rain made it difficult to grip the clubs and hands occasionally went numb due to the cold.

"I saw a kid at the eighth hole," said Germantown coach Gary Anderson, whose team was fourth. "No hat, no umbrella and a look that said 'You've got to be kidding me.' I tell you, nothing like a little rain to teach the kids how to dress properly."

And learn a little perseverance.

"How does that old saying go?" Wachs said. "'Ninety percent of golf is mental and the other 10 percent is in your head.'"