By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
The Walpole girls’ golf team (6-0-1) played the Newton North Tigers at the Walpole Country Club on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
It was the second of back-to-back matches on consecutive days with Newton North. On Tuesday, the two squads paired off on the Highland Course at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, with Walpole winning 4.5-1.5, giving the Tigers their first loss of the season. The team victory was highlighted by senior Gretchen Connolly’s eagle on the third hole.
In the Wednesday match, the Lady Timbs took it one step further, sweeping the Tigers, 6-0.
Last year, the Lady Timbs defended their Division 1 South championship by a stroke over Barnstable. They then finished third in the all-state, all-division competition. This year’s team has started off equally strong with wins in every match and a tie against reigning Division 1 Bay State Conference (BSC) champion, Wellesley.
Vivian Kolovos is in her third year as the girls’ coach. She was the Division 1 coach of the year last spring.
The 2026 captains are seniors Connolly, Tori Adams, and Adrianna Shaughnessy.
Adams was an all-scholastic in 2025. She is a three-time BSC all-star, three-year captain of the golf team, and senior captain of the basketball team. She’s headed to Bentley University to play golf in the fall. Last spring she finished tied for third in the 2025 South Sectional individual competition.
Walpole has sixteen girls in the golf program this season.
Eight golfers get to play in each best-ball team match. Golfers get one point by winning a hole. Whoever wins the most holes over a nine-hole match wins the match. The top six golfers then add up their wins, losses, and halves to make a team comparison. If a team match is tied after the top six golfers finish, then numbers 7 and 8 act as tiebreakers.
The top six ball strikers are seniors Connelly, Shaughnessy, Adams, Juliet Massey; sophomore Deanna Nosal; and freshman Jackie Keefe.
Against Newton North, Adams won her nine-hole match 3 and 1. Nosal won the 9th hole to secure a 2-up victory. Connolly rolled a 4 and a 3. Keefe battled to a 2-1 triumph. Massey and Shaughnessy had matches that were over early.
Home-and-home matches against Bishop Feehan are their only non-conference contests in the regular season.
The Bay State Conference championship is at the Braintree Country Club once again. The South Sectional Championship is at Foxborough Country Club on May 27. The State Finals are scheduled for Monday, June 1, 2026, at Indian Pond in Kingston.
