BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
The Old Bridge High School golf team will look to four returning players to carry the load this spring as the Knights look to contend in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s (GMC) Red Division.
A year ago, Old Bridge posted an 8-5 mark (6-4 in conference play) and finished fifth in the GMC Tournament. Despite the loss of Bill Root to graduation, coach Nick Renzi believes this year’s edition has much potential.
The Knights’ top four players – Brian Whitford and juniors Vinny Sartorelli, John King and Brendan Bernhard – all saw regular duty last season and generally averaged between 45 and 48 strokes per outing.
“If they can bring their scores in at 42 or 43 consistently, we’re going to win a lot of matches,” Renzi said. “All four of them have been playing a lot and working on their games, and they’re all capable of doing that, and I think they’re ready to step up.”
Whitford, who is entering his fourth varsity campaign, is a patient player with a strong all-around game and good length off the tee. He will also serve as the Knights’ captain.
Sartorelli, now in his third year, is a long hitter and Renzi said the junior has been working to make his short game more consistent. King excels as he gets closer to the green and has a variety of accurate shots.
Bernhard, who finished strong last spring, is solid off the tee and patient on the course. He recovers well when he has a poor shot.
“That’s really the key for everyone – taking one shot at a time,” Renzi explained. “It’s so important that you play within what you know you can do and don’t follow up a bad shot with another bad shot.”
Other members of the Old Bridge team include senior Tim Schuster, junior Brian Angstadt and promising freshman Louis Formica, who has shown good poise on the course so far.
The Knights were slated to open the campaign yesterday at home (Glenwood Country Club) against East Brunswick, and won’t play again until Monday when Edison comes to visit. The following day Old Bridge will compete in South Brunswick’s Viking Invitational before visiting Monroe on Wednesday.
“I’m glad that we only have one match the first week, because we’ve only been out about half as much as we were at this time last year,” Renzi said. “I know that every team is fighting the weather, but I don’t think we’ve found our rhythm yet and we’ll have a few more days to practice. That should really help us because our team isn’t very deep this season.”
Renzi also noted that his team has 20 matches scheduled this season, thanks to Glenwood providing several additional Monday dates. The Knights will also play nonconference matches against South River, Spotswood and Middlesex.