September 16, 2024
Eustis High Golf Team Pushes The Villages to Double Overtime in Dramatic Buffalo Invitational Showdown
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Golf Team Pushes The Villages to Double Overtime in Dramatic Buffalo Invitational Showdown
The Villages, FL (AP) — The Eustis Panthers boys’ golf team delivered a strong performance at the Buffalo Invitational on Saturday, finishing as the runner-up in a dramatic playoff finish against The Villages. Competing in a field of 10 teams, the Panthers rallied from a 10-stroke deficit at the halfway point, tying The Villages after 18 holes of regulation.
(Sophomore Eustis Panther Tayolor Hayes finished runner-up in the event and secured a silver medal.)
The teams remained deadlocked after the first playoff hole, but Eustis eventually fell to the host Buffalo on the second playoff hole, marking a double-overtime finish. Despite the close loss, the Panthers’ runner-up finish is the best in the program’s history at this tournament and signals a promising season ahead.
Sophomore standout Taylor Hayes shined individually, securing the Silver Medal with a 1-under-par 71, earning 2nd place overall.
Photo Credit and Info provided by Eustis High School Athletics
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
