It was a glorious day for Central Connecticut’s men’s golf team when they won the Northeast Conference Championship in just their second year under head coach Kyle Gallo.

But three months earlier, CCSU President Dr. Zulma Toro announced both the men’s and women’s golf programs were being cut in cost-saving efforts. This left nine student-athletes without a place to compete for the 2018-2019 season.

Sophomore Drew Szandrocha said the team received a text to meet with Toro. With possible changes to the department looming, the team braced for the worst.

“It was a text to meet the president. We all kind of knew ‘this is not going to be good news,’” he said.

Though Szandrocha could not recall the specific reasons Toro gave for the disbanding, the teams were left dissatisfied.

“‘It’s got to happen.’ Well, there are other things that could have been done,” Szandrocha said. “I felt like there was an argument for every one of them [Toro’s reasons].”

One argument Szandrocha took offense with was the lack of presence in the campus community, arguing the team was the most present in the New Britain community.

“We’re the team in the community. We’re the team on the range in New Britain giving tips to the locals and talking to them. We’re the ones that are out there,” Szandrocha said.

But the team used being cut as even more motivation towards reaching their ultimate goal and something they already expected to do: winning the NEC.

“We used it all to push our strive for the win. We used everything that they said. We got amped up,” Szandrocha said. “The athletes, we were all about ‘just win.’”

The team’s story caught the attention of the Golf Channel, who interviewed them live on the air during the Selection Show for the NCAA Tournament.

“Coach [Kyle Gallo] gave the best interview he could have. He said ‘all we can do is win and we’ll keep pushing. Things happen in life. This our time, so let’s enjoy it,’” Szandrocha said.

Though he did not travel to Florida to participate, Szandrocha said the team had a great experience and had a “strong showing.”

Toro insisted that the school would be honoring scholarships, but the golfers were free to leave and pursue another opportunity to play collegiate golf.

Freshman Nick Piersall transferred to fellow-NEC school Bryant to continue his collegiate career.

Anthony Sebastianelli, the team’s top golfer, graduated and is seeking a professional playing career. Captain Brandon Raine graduated and started his own golf training program in his home country of Canada, per Szandrocha.

But for Szandrocha, Joe Tucker and Arthur Ouimet, they currently remain at CCSU with uncertainty facing their future collegiate golf careers.

Szandrocha opted not to seek out other opportunities when he was offered a job at Tunxis Plantation Country Club in nearby Farmington, CT, an opportunity he acquired through the golf team while practicing at the course.

“They had a meeting with us (the golf team) to go over some possible ideas they could do and what millennials were looking for,” Szandrocha said. “I presented them a couple things and they liked it. So, they wanted to see if I would do an internship and that turned into a full-time job.”

He also felt he had not “built his stock up enough” to seek out another opportunity and realized competitive golf “was not for him.”

Though Szandrocha wished to be a part of the team for his remaining two years but is content with his decision, saying his dream of playing Division I golf had been fulfilled.

“I got this great opportunity here as the golf team was closing. It was a one door closes and another opens kind of thing. It couldn’t have worked any better for me,” he said.

Despite this, Szandrocha shared remorse for his other teammates affected by the situation.

“It’s these kids’ lives. They committed to this school. These three freshmen could have gone anywhere. They were so good, and they chose Central,” he said.

Szandrocha still remains close with his former teammates, even living with some of those that remain at CCSU.

“Those are my best friends. We were friends with everybody. We had a really good thing going and it’s too bad we’re not going to have that anymore,” he said.

Despite being upset over the matter for a time, the main reason Szandrocha did not look elsewhere was because of his love and connection for CCSU, where he is still obtaining his degree in hospitality and tourism.

“I love the school so much. New Britain is such a good town. I love the major,” Szandrocha said. “My whole family is from New Britain. My aunt, uncle, parents all went to Central. This is a really cool place and I’m happy that Central is building itself back.”

Gallo, who is from neighboring Berlin, is known as “Mr. Connecticut,” for winning the Connecticut Open four times. But he has already landed on his feet, securing the head coaching job at Division II Western New England.

Szandrocha spoke incredibly highly of his former coach.

“Kyle chose Central and he could have gone anywhere,” Szandrocha continued. “He was coach of the year and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He was ready to settle in this place and have a dynasty. We were so solid, and we were only going to get better.”

As for former women’s head coach Jackie Beck, she was hired as the swing coach at Division III Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and continues her role as LPGA Professional for Tunxis and did not wish to further comment on the matter.

She did share that all four of her remaining players are playing collegiately at other schools, three of them being DI.

Despite his collegiate career not finishing the way he wanted, Szandrocha has fond memories of his time with the team, with going out as conference champions at the forefront.

“It was the best way to go out. We went out on top. We said, ‘look what we could have done,’” Szandrocha said. “We just showed them the mistake they made and left it there. I think we did our job. It’s all we could do.”