The St. Louis U. High community is all too acquainted with the greatest trophy in all of high school sports: The Jesuit Cup. Every year, SLUH’s hockey and golf teams face off against fellow Jesuit institution De Smet to lay it all on the line for the honor of raising the Jesuit Cup trophy and proving which school is really better. This year, in an event synonymous with nail-biting finishes, the SLUH golf team blew out De Smet to retain the J Cup title for the second year in a row. However, this success couldn’t be translated into the next week at Districts, when only senior captain Louis Cornett—who tied for first place individually with an even-par 72—qualified for State.

On May 4, the golf squad geared up for the first day of the J-Cup at Forest Park’s Dogwood course. The J-Cup follows a two-day Ryder Cup format, with the first day being a team alternate shot and best ball match play. Starting off the day with alternate shot were the seasoned duo of seniors Sam Orlando and Cornett, accompanied by the inexperienced but capable duo of junior Austin Wald and freshman Aiden Erard. 

Orlando and Cornett were matched up against De Smet’s top pairing, Blake Skornia and Colby Sauer. The SLUH team knew they needed to play strong to beat the two Spartans, one of whom is a D1 commit. Despite the nerves going in, Cornett and Orlando were able to go one up after the first hole courtesy of a De Smet bogey.

“That (par) kind of settled us down,” reflected Cornett. “Then the momentum really shifted on the fourth and fifth hole.” 

On those holes, the Jr. Bills went up by two with a birdie on hole four, courtesy of a drive and a putt from Orlando. In alternate shot play, each pairing takes turns hitting shots, meaning trust in your partner is essential. On five, the Spartans found the water with their second shot, giving the Jr. Bills a three hole lead as they started the trek back to the clubhouse. After losing the sixth hole and staying even through the rest of the holes, De Smet found themselves needing a hole out on the 8th green to prolong the match—a hole out they didn’t get.  

“That was a really good tone setter for the team,” Cornett said. “At the number one spot there was a really good player for De Smet so for us to take that first point really gave us momentum for the second day. We were really confident and comfortable with how the outcome would go.”

Wald and Erard continued the success in alternate shot against De Smet’s Mason Skornia and Nick Ford, but their finish was much more turbulent. After blowing a one-up lead on the seventh hole and tying the eighth hole, Wald and Erard came into the over 600-yard par-5 9th hole with nerves all around. They brought home a win, but it wasn’t pretty. After slicing the ball off the tee, playing under trees to avoid water, then ultimately getting up and down with a chip from the bank of the water, they sunk a slippery putt from six feet for a bogey. Ford and Skornia, however, splashed into the water and carded a double bogey to secure another point for SLUH.

“It was one of the most stressful holes of my life,” said Erard. “I didn’t want to lose and be a liability to the team and potentially cost us the trophy.”

The best-ball duo of seniors Owen Rittenhouse and Thomas Ziegler won in a similarly messy fashion. Going into the 9th hole, Rittenhouse and Ziegler were one up against De Smet’s Tim Powers and Jake Bauer. Both Ziegler and Rittenhouse went into the water but Ziegler was still able to make a bogey to tie the hole and win the match by getting up and down from the water bank. After three wins for the day, the best-ball pairing of senior Miles Schulte and junior Matt Hempstead put on the most dominant performance. Ending the match on the eighth hole, the pair soundly defeated De Smet’s Jack Dawson and Grant Walbert by three points, helping seal SLUH’s clean sweep for day one.

On day two of the Jesuit Cup, the course was closed off to the public and layered with mist and fog from the earlier showers, setting up perfectly for a day of intense final matches. Day two consisted of ten individual matches and ten team points for the taking to secure the win. After going up 4-0, the Jr. Bills’ spirits were high but they stayed humble as they knew the competition was far from over. However, the second day played out very similar to the first day, with only two SLUH golfers losing their match and one tying, making the final score 11.5-2.5, the largest margin in J-Cup history. 

With solid play and battle all around, coach Dan Reardon couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.

“I was proud to be wearing the same shirt as they were, not because of what they shot but because of how they handled themselves,” said Reardon. 

“It was nice to end my golf career at SLUH on a high note. Not only was I able to win both of my matches, but our team was able to pull out the largest margin of victory in Jesuit Cup history, and it was great to be a part of that,” said senior Owen Rittenhouse.

Following the J-Cup, coach Reardon made his five picks to compete in districts on May 9 at Aberdeen Golf Club, selecting Louis Cornett, Thomas Ziegler, Sam Orlando, Matt Hempstead, and Aiden Erard. 

Cornett, an eventual winner, was placed in one of the marquee groups to start. With a decent crowd and the impending pressure of a state title run, Cornett got off to a rocky start on the first hole. From out of the rough, he was able to recover and sank a birdie putt.

“I tried to get in a zone but the first hole I honestly mishit two shots but I still left myself a birdie putt within a foot. That’s when I knew it was going to be a good day,” he said. 

After chipping in for eagle at six and cruising through the remaining holes, Cornett found himself with an outright win in sight.

“I made a bride at 13, which was playing really tough into the wind. I knew at that point I was neck and neck with them but unfortunately I got a little ahead of myself on the 17th hole,” he said. “I parred 17 and then on 18 I sailed the green and bogeyed that hole to finish even with my opponents.” 

Cornett ended the day on top of the podium, but it was shared with two other golfers. Regardless, Cornett now gets the chance to play for the state title next week in Cape Girardeau. Below Cornett, no players had much success. The next closest finishers, Orlando and Hempstead both missed the cut.

“I was a little nervous at the start,” said Orlando. “I didn’t play in it last year so it was nerve wracking. I made a few too many mistakes and missed the cut by two.”

“It was a really tough pill to swallow,” agreed Hempstead, who also missed the cut. “We had a good squad and really could’ve put something together but we just didn’t have it that day.”

Cornett will travel to the Class VI state championship at Dalhousie Golf Club next Monday. The two day tournament will feature the top 80 players in the state.