PHS golf strong in defeat

Little Tigers better last year’s score; Hun, North in middle of pack

By: Bob Nuse
   The Princeton High golf team had won the last two team championships at the Mercer County Tournament. And on Thursday, the Little Tigers shot 12 shots better than they had last year, yet it wasn’t good enough for a third straight title.
   While Princeton had four players shoot under 80 to record a team score of 305, it wasn’t quite enough to beat a West Windsor-Plainsboro High South team that recorded a 302 at Mercer Oaks.
   "We played respectable, but we could have played better," said Princeton coach Sheryl Severance, whose team shot a 317 last year. "A couple of strokes here or there could have made the difference.
   "The caliber of play is getting better and better. South is playing really well. I’m happy for them. If it couldn’t be us, I’m happy for them. I knew it would be tough this year. South is a good team and they have been playing very well."
   Jordan Gibbs shot a 72 and finished tied with South’s Ryan Phenlan for the best round of the day. Gibbs advanced to the second round of a playoff before Phelan emerged as the winner. Peter Teifer shot a 76, while Will Madden shot a 78, Mike DiMeglio had a 79 and George Graham had an 84.
   "A 305 is a good score," Severance said. "I’m not unhappy with anyone’s score. But the kids can always find somewhere where they could have made up a shot or two. They all came in and said they could have picked up a shot here or there."
   Gibbs had the best day of all, shooting par for the day.
   "Jordan is a great player," Severance said. "He shot a 70 when we went and played at Bunker Hill. He shot a 75 when we played at Myrtle Beach, and that was a long course, over 7,000 yards. He takes it serious and he works hard. He’s going to play next year at Rutgers. He played well today. He came in thinking 72 wasn’t going to be good enough to win."
   The Little Tigers now turn their attention to the state tournament, which will be played on Monday.
   "We have sectionals Monday and we’re playing at Overpeck in North Jersey (Teaneck)," Severance said. "We just found out we got moved to North 2, so we’ll be playing on a new course that we’ve never played against teams we haven’t seen before. But we’re optimistic."
   The other Packet-area teams all finished in the middle of the pack, while Princeton Day freshman John Inman was the lone Panther to play in the tournament. Inman shot a 77, finishing just five strokes off the lead in his first appearance at the MCT.
   "I was expecting to be somewhere around 75, so I’m happy with my round," Inman said. "I’m working on a new swing right now, so I’m not upset with the way I played. I’ve been pretty happy with my year. I think of high school golf as a chance to get ready for the summer. I’m planning to play in a lot of tournaments and hopefully this will help me get ready."
   The Hun School and West Windsor-Plainsboro North both finished in the middle of the pack on Thursday. Hun finished with a team score of 338, led by an 81 from Tom Stoddard and an 82 from Connor Snook. John Mulvey finished with an 85.
   "We did OK," Hun coach Dave Davis said. "The kids were a little anxious on the way over. We spent the time talking about the course and what course it plays like. I have kids that really enjoy playing golf and they like to compete.
   "Our season has been OK. We’ve had some nice wins and some tough losses. We look forward to the county tournament and now we have the MAPL tournament on Saturday and then the prep states next week. Hopefully we can do well. The kids look forward to those tournaments."
   WW-P North finished with a 345, led by Brett Horvath with an 83 and Bill Carson with an 84. Dustin Ward shot an 86 for the Knights.
   "We shot about our average," North coach Doug Harman said. "Some guys shot a little higher and some shot a little lower. So we did about what I expected we would do. We had no illusions of coming in here and winning. We just wanted to do the best we could and I think for the most part we did that."