The Jerry Courville Sr. Cup is the golf match of the year for Brien McMahon and Norwalk High School's golf teams. The Senators and the Bears took to the luxurious Shorehaven Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon to compete for the trophy and the bragging rights that go along with it.

McMahon prevailed, beating Norwalk 183-210 on the front nine holes. But despite the loss, the Bears had a fun time competing on such a beautiful golf course in what Norwalk's head coach Ray Kodel called, "a friendly competition".

"We want to give them [McMahon] the best match we could," Kodel said. "We want to improve our scores and make the match as competitive as possible."

McMahon coach Bo Kane agreed with Kodel's description of the match as a "friendly competition".

"The first couple of years when the match began, six years ago by Larry Ankar [a good friend of the Courville family], it was extremely competitive," Kane said. "Now, I would much rather play Norwalk in a close match than not have any competition."

Jerry Courville Sr. is a golfing legend in Norwalk, a fact which the golfers were made aware of before Tuesday afternoon.

"The kids are aware of Jerry's status in the city and his impact on the golfer's, both young and old,

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in Norwalk," Kodel said. "The kids are getting the chance to play on this beautiful golf course it is a special occasion for all of us."

"I know the kids appreciate the opportunity they have to play at Shorehaven," Kane said. "We are forever grateful to Larry for initiating the Jerry Courville Sr. Cup. It's the best course we play on in the FCIAC league, by far."

Both teams put in strong individual performances. Joe Kurche, of McMahon, scored a 41, followed by teammates Rick Buellesback (46), Jake Sgaglione (47) and co-captain Evan Robbins (49). For Norwalk, co-captain Dean Efstathiades led the Bears with a score of 48, followed by Shane Bogdanyi (53), co-captain Drew Pennell (54) and Tom Kodel (55).

"The kids know each other and Bo and I used to coach basketball together at McMahon," Kodel said. "This makes the match more fun than a usual FCIAC match."

"Dean is the most consistent golfer on our team," Kodel added. "And Tom has bee improving in practices and matches throughout the entire season."

"Rick, a freshman, is our number one in scoring," Kane said. "He keeps getting better and I don't believe he will ever leave the varsity lineup."

"As a team, we haven't been being as consistent as I would have liked," Kane added. "Golf is a very mental game and we have pretty good skills, but sometimes the kids get distracted at the matches and don't do as well as they can."

"I am familiar with the rivalry from other sports that I have played," said Efstathiades. "Golf is a sport that you can never get perfectly. You can always keep improving."

Co-captain Travis Prybylski said his family are long-time friends of the Courville's, which gives the meaning of the Cup match a more personal one.

"Jerry was my grandpa's best friend and I want to win that Cup," he said.

"Bringing home the trophy is a great feeling," added Robbins.