Coach Bo Henning wasn’t exactly shocked that his East Brunswick High School golf team won its second straight Greater Middlesex Conference title.
But the 10-4-1 Bears weren’t necessarily assured of a fine season when the spring began.
“We felt we had two great players back [junior Steven Ahn and senior Paul Zeidman], but we lost six seniors,” said Henning. “We had two freshmen come on and have excellent seasons, and that helped a great deal.”
EBHS tied for the Red Division lead with Old Bridge, and lost some close matches along the way. Overall, the Bears generally scored around 160, (that is, taking the best four tallies for nine holes).
Ahn averaged 3.4 strokes over par while Zeidman was at 3.9. The two freshmen who stepped up were Steve Kuei, who finished just under 6-above par on average, and Andy Heiberger, who played 8-over golf.
“They helped keep us at the level we needed,” said Henning.
Senior Wayne Li averaged 8-over par, while senior Alex Lee finished 10-over.
The Bears trounced the opposition in the GMCs, their 319 score (for 18 holes) a full 14 strokes up on the competition. Ahn carded a 76, while Zeidman finished at 78, Heiberger at 80 and Li at 85.
“Our goal next year is to make more of an impact in the states,” said Henning, whose club wound up in the middle of the pack.
The Old Bridge Knights took second in the team standings at the GMCT with a 333 score, led by Rolland Gesimondo, who shot a 75, just two shots behind the overall winner, Isaac Lim of Piscataway, the defending champion.
The Monroe Falcons finished tied for fifth with a score of 351, led by the strong round of Doug Rohrig, whose 77 was also good for fifth place overall.
Spotswood finished in eighth place (379), led by Michael Homan’s 83.
— Richard Jerome