Season Preview: Whaler Golf Tees Off 2026 Fall Season On Thursday

The Whaler golf team will kick off the 2026 fall sports season for Nantucket High School Athletics on Thursday, and will be doing so while attempting to replace seven seniors from last year’s team including David Foley and David Boulter, who is playing Division 2 golf at Belmont Abbey College this year.

"We graduated seven seniors including three of our top four scorers from last year," Whaler head coach Sam Herrick said. "David Foley going off was a big loss. He started playing really well towards the end of the year. If you remember, he only missed the state qualifier as an individual by one shot last year. He was like 10 out of 80 I think. But I think we have a ton of potential.”

Herrick is entering his fifth season leading the program and returns his entire staff consisting of his father Hal Herrick, former Whaler golf head coach Nate Roberts, and avid island golfer and coach Danno Lynch.

“Still got the same dream team,” Herrick said. “We have seen a lot over the years now. It's a lot more connecting on more of a personal level and building relationships with these guys than it is technical. We only have eight or nine weeks to get these guys ready, and you can't change somebody's swing in eight or nine weeks... so it's kind of adapt and adjust and figure out what works for them. Coach Nate might be one of the best single tip golf coaches I've ever seen in my life. So he's really, really good. We all feed off each other very well, which is why we work so well together, and which is why we've always had a winning season.”

Herrick said Lucien Silva, a sophomore, has raised some eyebrows early on and is expected to lead Nantucket through the season after showing promise during his freshman year last fall.

“Lucien Silva came up and played six matches with us last year as a freshman and we brought him to the state tournament last year and he played well,” Herrick said. “I think for him, he's going to be kind of the guy leading the charge for us right now. He's been playing. He played in nine tournaments over the summer. He was like third in points for the New England PGA Junior. He came in and his first practice he shot a 36. So obviously he's come in game ready and spent a lot of time working on it this summer, which is what any coach can ask for.”

Hunter Bistany and Emil Ivanov are also expected to play key roles for the Whalers this season after serving as some of their top golfers last fall.

"We're looking for a lot out of the veterans like Hunter Bistany," Herrick said. "We're looking for a lot out of Emil Ivanov who was an all star last year in the Lighthouse League and the year before I think. He was our third best scorer last year, and so we're looking for a lot out of Emil. We're looking for a lot out of Edward Tavares this year. Obviously, he's been a caddie at Sankaty for four years.”

Herrick said Tavares has every tool necessary to be great and they are actively working on refining some of those fixes. He said he expects the league to be tough again but is confident in his group’s ability to compete and string together another strong year.

"It's nice for these guys to see that kind of competition and what kind of caliber they need to be playing at in order to compete at that state tournament level,” Herrick said.

Nantucket will kick off their season on Thursday, September 3^rd on the road against the Sturgis West Navigators at 3:30 p.m. You can view the full Whaler schedule here.