Teifer leads Tigers to title

By: Rich Fisher
   During its near perfect season a year ago, one of the few down days for the Princeton High golf team was its trip to the Cherry Valley Invitational.
   Princeton entered the tournament feeling like it could win, but instead wound up in ninth place in the event, one of the premier in-season tournaments in the state. The Little Tigers bounded back from their disappointment that day to finish off an undefeated regular season, which also included a Mercer County Tournament championship.
   On Monday, Princeton made up for that one disappointing day last year by winning this year’s Cherry Valley Invitational. The Little Tigers shot a three-player team score of 229, finishing three shots ahead of host Montgomery to capture the team championship.
   "We played really well," Princeton coach Sheryl Severance said. "It was another tough field this year. The teams that come to the tournament are all real good. We were disappointed that we didn’t win it last year. But this year we were able to win it. I felt like we were ready to win it last year, but we didn’t. So it was nice to win it this year."
   Princeton was led by sophomore Peter Teifer, who shot a 2-over par 74, which was good enough for fourth place individually. Casey Huckel shot a 76, while Kyle Rasavage shot a 79 for the Little Tigers.
   Montgomery, which was led by a 75 from Jason Stall, finished second with a team score of 332. The Hun School finished eighth with a 238, West Windsor-Plainsboro North was 11th with a 242, while WW-P South and Princeton Day tied for 14th with team scores of 248.
   A year ago, Teifer wasn’t even part of the four-man Princeton team that competed in the tournament at Cherry Valley. But this year, he’s been the most consistent player on a very consistent team.
   "I like the competition," said Teifer, a Cranbury resident who is averaging 39.2 for nine holes during regular match play. "It’s good for me to be able to play in a tournament like this and face that kind of competition at a young age. It will help prepare me for the future.
   "Our team has a really solid core. I think we’re all really close and our averages are about the same. We have a good group of guys who can all play."
   For Severance, the toughest part of each day is figuring just which players from that close group will play in a particular match.
   "Every day I have to do the averages to see who the top six players are," said Severance, whose team is 6-1 after a 205-226 win over Princeton Day School on Wednesday at Bedens Brook. "It changes all the time because the players are all so close. Peter has been No. 1 most of the time. He’s been playing very consistent golf so far. He’s very athletic and he’s a nice player."
   A player who keeps getting better the more he plays, he cracked the Princeton lineup as a freshman a year ago and has continued to improve this year.
   "I’ve been playing about five years," said Teifer, who also plays for the Princeton ice hockey team. "I started taking lessons and then in the summers I would play in some tournaments. It was good to get out and face the good competition and see how I could do. I’ve been playing ever since and my scores have been coming down. I want to keep improving and go for my dream of playing college golf."
   While the movie "Happy Gilmore" poked fun at a hockey player on the golf course, Teifer can see the similarities in the sports and how playing one helps with the other.
   "When you think about it, the slap shot is a lot like the golf swing, the way you strike the ball," said Teifer, a Cranbury resident. "(Happy Gilmore) is a little exaggerated. But I think it does help some with golf and it also helps the other way with hockey.
   "Right now I’m still deciding whether or not to play travel hockey. The tryouts start this Friday and it is a big time commitment. I’m trying to focus as much as I can right now on my golf. It used to be the opposite when I was younger. But once I started to put up better scores in golf, I started to take it more serious and worked a lot on my game."
   He and his Princeton teammates are focused right now on having an even better season than they did a year ago. The Little Tigers already secured the Cherry Valley Tournament title that eluded them a year ago. But they’ve lost the shot at an undefeated season, suffering a one-shot loss at the hands of Ridge earlier this season.
   "We were all disappointed after that loss," Teifer said. "They are ranked eighth in the state and we know we can beat them. It just wasn’t our day that day. We didn’t shoot our best scores and we lost by one stroke.
   "We still have states and we’ll get another shot at Ridge then."
   The Little Tigers have already made up for one disappointment by winning the Cherry Valley title. They’ll be looking to get another shot at Ridge later in the season.