Bulldogs win twice, await Princeton

HOPEWELL VALLEY GOLF

By: Tim Falls
   Hopewell Valley Central High School golf coach Bill Russell had the match against Steinert circled on his schedule for a reason.
   It was a match he knew would be close and one he wanted to win.
   "It was down to my last guy," said Russell. "Steve Marsh beat his man by a stroke."
   Marsh finished with a 48 at Miry Run Country Club, par 36, and his one stroke lead over Steinert’s Brian Hanson helped the Bulldogs edge the Spartans, 216-217, on April 5.
   Russell didn’t have to circle the match against Princeton Day on his schedule.
   Senior Ben Bershad shot one over par with a 37 at Bedens Brook to help Hopewell Valley defeat PDS, 220-248, on Monday.
   Areeb Zamir followed with a 43 and even though the rest of the Hopewell scores were higher than Russell expected, the Bulldogs easily stayed ahead of their opponents.
   There was nothing easy in the win over Steinert.
   Even the weather did not cooperate.
   "It was nasty," said Russell. "It was cold and wet and it had snowed that afternoon. It was a tough match and we were happy to come away with a win."
   Steinert’s Sandeep Ramachandran shot the match low with a 38, two over par at Miry Run, while Alex Laughlin carded a 39 for Hopewell Valley.
   Hopewell Valley’s usual top shooter, Bershard, shot a 41 as did teammate Andrew Glander. While Bershad lost head-to-head to Ramachandran, Glander stayed ahead of Steinert’s Matt Petrowski. Zamir shot a 47 and fell behind his Spartan opponent, but the Bulldogs prevailed with Marsh’s score.
   There’s another match circled on Russell’s schedule.
   After the spring break, Hopewell Valley opens up against Princeton, last year’s Mercer County champion. Hopewell Valley finished five strokes behind the Little Tigers last year at the county championship.
   "That’s a monster match for us," said Russell. "It was a relatively close match last year. They beat us with their last two guys. That’s how they beat a lot of teams, with their depth."
   Russell knows the match will come down to depth again this season and will need his fifth and sixth golfers to be at their best.
   "It’s kind of tough," said Russell. "We have off Easter Monday and we can’t practice."
   However, Russell doesn’t expect his players to lose their touch.
   "All of my guys will be working," said Russell. "They’ll all be out there over the break."