Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week

Pirates’ Aloi playing beyond years

By: Justin Feil
   Anthony Aloi is just a sophomore, but he has unmatched tournament experience.
   He has relied on it in the final weeks of his second year with the West Windsor-Plainsboro South golf team.
   The culmination of Aloi’s sophomore year with the Pirates began when he won the Central-South Jersey Group III sectional in a playoff against Seneca’s Sean Tudor last Monday after both shot 73 at Running Deer Golf Club in Pittsgrove. Aloi won on the third hole of the playoff, then had to play one more playoff hole to help the Pirates top Moorestown for second place and the automatic berth in the Tournament of Champions. It was the first trip to the TOC in nine years for the Pirates.
   Aloi piggy-backed off his spectacular playoff win to shoot two strokes better than anyone in the Pirates’ 208-211 win over Lawrence at Greenacres Golf Club on Wednesday. With the win, WW-P South clinched the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division crown. The next day, there was no letup as Aloi shot 1-under 35 in a 185-197 win over Hopewell Valley at Mercer Oaks Golf Course on Thursday in their final regular-season match. The 185 was one stroke off the school record 184.
   Anthony Aloi is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   Aloi finished off his sophomore season by placing eighth individually at the Tournament of Champions on Monday to lead the Pirates to a sixth-place finish. Aloi would have liked a higher finish at the TOC, but his final week’s accomplishments left him feeling good about the season.
   Winning the sectional crown was a big highlight, even outside of his school play, and doing so in playoffs only added to the accomplishment.
   "I’ve been in playoffs before," Aloi said, adding, "probably not as big as that one. I knew I could rely on experience, I could take what I did in the past and apply it to that day.
   "It’s probably one of the best wins I’ve ever had. It wasn’t the entire state, but there were a lot of good players there. It felt good to win that."
   Aloi leaned on his experience to keep the playoff alive at first and then win it ultimately on the third hole. He never wavered through the playoff and his opponent seemed to unwind when he bogeyed the third hole.
   "In the sudden death playoff, you could see how well he was playing," said Pirates head coach Russell Wray of Aloi. "He had a lot of pressure on. There were 30 or 40 people following the group. His competitor on the first hole, hit it 10 to 15 feet from the pin. Anthony hit his shot beyond the pin and sucked it back to a foot behind the hole. He hit a fabulous shot. Then he made an incredibly good putt on the second playoff hole. He had to make a 10- to 12-foot putt just to stay in the playoff. He made it."
   Added Aloi: "I knew it was a long course, it was a hard course. I was thrilled to get out of there with something around par. I played well. Then I played an amazing playoff. It was intense. It really was."
   Aloi won it on the third playoff hole. Just as impressively to his Pirates team was the fact that he could come back and help them edge Moorestown for a slot in the TOC. Both were tied for second place at 319 when the scores of their top four were added together. The Top 4 from each team then went out for the team playoff after Aloi’s individual playoff win.
   "He played the individual first," Wray said. "He played three holes. Then to come back, after you get pumped up and when you win, it feels like it’s over, but he had to try to take a deep breath and get back into it. It was a lot of work. He held in there great."
   The Pirates didn’t make it too suspenseful as they won by shooting par on the first hole of the sudden-death playoff and Moorestown shot 4-over.
   "We knew we were playing well going into it," Aloi said. "We thought we could definitely win. I played well that day. No one else really played their best. We were lucky to get into a playoff. Then we killed (Moorestown) by four shots.
   "We would have been disappointed if didn’t get in. We didn’t play well but we had a chance even though didn’t play that great to still get into the TOC. It was exciting."
   Particularly given that it had been nearly a decade since the Pirates last appeared in the TOC. Two days after qualifying for the highest level of scholastic golf in New Jersey, they sealed the division title with a win over Lawrence. Aloi shot 37 for the nine holes to help the Pirates accomplish one goal.
   "The Lawrence match we won that and won the division," Aloi said. "We did know that coming in. We didn’t have our best, but we got it done. It was good."
   The next day the Pirates were even better. Aloi shot under par and WW-P South approached a Pirate performance for the record books against Hopewell.
   "They’re always a good team," Wray said of Hopewell. "It was a tough match. In a way, we didn’t have anything to play for. It was good to see the kids play well. I tried to put the pressure on and have them shoot for the record. They shot 185 and our school record is 184. They just missed it."
   There haven’t been many misses for Aloi this year. He ended his season with a Top-10 finish at the TOC. It was the culmination to quite a final week to his sophomore season.
   "He’s been playing very well all season," Wray said. "His average is under 36 in nine-hole matches. He’s been playing really well. There’s more of an opportunity for him because of the 18-hole tournaments. In the county, he did well. In the sectional, he did well. He’s been having great year. It shown best under these conditions."