Lawrence golf
By: Jim Green
Lawrence High School golf coach Gregg Zenerovitz wasn’t concerned with the fact his team lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South. He simply was happy that his squad finally played its best golf against a top-flight opponent.
The Cardinals, whose previous best scores had come against Ewing, Trenton and Hamilton, shot a season-low 206 April 21 against the Pirates at Princeton Country Club. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, South shot a 201 to come away with the win.
"We played our best match of the year," Zenerovitz said. "I told them before the match that we have to make sure we put up a good number. They were really going to have to play well to beat us, and they did."
Chris Trapp tied his best round of the season, shooting 3-over par 35 to lead the Cardinals. Steve Mann, coming off a clutch 39 in a win over Hopewell Valley, shot another 39 against the Pirates. Alex Shin and Pat Stanger each had 43s, while Matt Marencik had a 44. South was led by Anthony Aloi’s 37, followed by Brad Schutzer (37), Mike March (40), Dan Kim (43) and Ryan Phelan (44).
"I was proud of the way the kids played," Zenerovitz said. "It was a great effort. South was just a little better."
Zenerovitz knew going in Aloi was likely to put up a good score. The hope was that South’s No. 2 wouldn’t be as strong, but Schutzer came up with a fine performance.
"He (Aloi) is going to be there for four years, and he’s going to be a weapon for that program," Zenerovitz said. "They played really well, and we played really well. It was a very good golf match.
"You knew we were going to need something from those five and six guys. They posted pretty good scores, but it was going to be tough to pull it out."
On Monday, the Cardinals returned to the course with a 215-248 home win over Edison, improving to 6-4 on the year. Trapp led the way at 39, while Mann (42), Marencik (44), Shin (44) and Stanger (46) all were solid.
Mann, whose 39 against Hopewell on April 18 clinched the Cardinals’ victory on a match of cards with Hopewell leader Ben Bershad (40), has been a reliable scorer all season.
"He’s just been really consistent," Zenerovitz said. "He plays his own game and doesn’t worry about what his opponent is shooting.
"At Hopewell, the greens were very quick. It was tough to score that day. Hopewell was probably the second best course we’ve played, behind Cherry Valley. When you play well at the better courses, it builds confidence."
On Tuesday, Lawrence fell to Steinert 211-223 at Princeton Country Club. Mann shot a team-best 39, followed by Trapp (43), Shin (45), Marencik (48) and Andrew Slom (48).
Despite the loss, the young Cardinals continue to improve as a team.
"We’re pretty young, but we’re starting to get better," Zenerovitz said. "Young teams will have their ups and downs. We’re starting to play our best golf, and the kids are starting to respond to the competition."
The Cardinals (6-5), who have four matches remaining before the state tournament cutoff, will play host to Monroe on Monday before visiting South on Wednesday and Nottingham the next day in two tough Colonial Valley Conference matches. The Cardinals then will compete in a tri-match with New Egypt and Bordentown on May 6, the cutoff date. Teams must have a .600 record or better to qualify for the golf state tournament.
"It very well could come down to that last day," Zenerovitz said. "You never want it to come down to that last day. We’ll see what happens. We’ve got a lot of golf left."

