The aim of every golfer is to go low, but when it comes to the East Providence High School golf team as the Townies enter their final 2024 regular season Eastern Division match it's basically a necessity for them to shoot the proverbial lights out.

East Providence takes a scoring average of 165.8 into its last outing Thursday afternoon, May 16, at Swansea Country Club against host Mt. Hope with Bay View. The Townies sat in 12th place in the state-wide standings behind St. Raphael in 11th at 164.5 and Moses Brown in 10th at 163.2.

The Quakers hold the 10th and last qualifying spot as a team into the state championship tournament set for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28 and 29, at Cranston Country Club.

"We're on the bubble. We're like a NCAA Tournament team. We're still in it. We still have a shot," EPHS head coach Bill McEnery said after the Townies' penultimate match played Monday, May 13, at Newport Country Club.

East Providence carded a team total of 176 over the blustery front nine at the historic NCC. Nathan Carter shot 3-over 38 to lead the locals. Billy Fitzgerald was next in at 39. Noah Araujo shot 49. Zach Mendo and Matt Lallane shared the final counting score total of 50. Nathan Tavares' 53 was discarded.

The Townies swept both host Rogers and Tiverton in the head-to-head competition, improving to 10-2 in the Eastern standings behind only unbeaten Barrington. The Eagles, by the way, enter their final matches in fourth place in the scoring average standings at 155.8 and are comfortably in the state tourney.

East Providence, on the other hand, is not. The locals likely need to shoot "below 160," according to McEnery, in its finale at Swansea to be able to skip past St. Ray's and Moses Brown for the 10th and last spot.

Under the previous playoff qualification formula, East Providence would be in the state tourney already, having locked in second place in the Eastern Division. Before last year, the top two teams from each of the five divisions earned spots directly into states. Teams 3-5 in each would conduct a playoff to bring the final total of teams in the tourney to 15.

"No disrespect to Mt. Hope and Bay View, but we should beat them Thursday, which means our record the last two years combined will have been 23-5 and take out the losses to Barrington and it's 23-1. And there's a chance we won't go to the state tournament either year. That's a shame," said McEnery.

Like last year, Carter and Fitzgerald would still represent EPHS at states as individuals based on their solo play. Araujo has a chance to qualify as well. Just as happens with the team scores, the individuals will get to discard their two highest scores to determine their final average.

The Townies were coming off their second Eastern Division match loss to Barrington, this time at the Eagles' home layout of Rhode Island Country Club Thursday, May 9. The Townies' only two setbacks have come to Barrington.

Last Thursday, Barrington finished with a team total of 158 to the 167 for EPHS. Junior Lily Dessel led the Eagles with the day's medallist score of even par 36 over the RICC front nine. Carter was low for the locals with a 39 followed by Fitzgerald with a 41, Araujo a 42 and Mendo a 45.