Tigers team champs again
By: Bob Nuse
Believe it or not, the past few years the Princeton High golf team may have had too many good players.
The Little Tigers had so many talented golfers recently that while their team was winning the Mercer County Tournament title, a ‘B’ team from Princeton might just have finished in the top three.
But with all that talent sometimes comes problems, such as getting 10 golfers on the course for a tournament like the MCT when the rules only allow for five.
"That was a curse I decided," Princeton coach Sheryl Severance said. "Having five great golfers, and I have five great golfers, is much easier and it is much more consistent for the players. Last year it was too much competition between the players amongst our own team."
This year Severance has a clear top five, and three of them are from Cranbury in Peter Teifer, Curtis Smith and Jon Bichsel. And that has made making out the lineup each day a little easier on the veteran coach.
On Wednesday, the gang game through and led the Little Tigers to their fourth MCT title in the last six years and their second in the last three years.
Teifer led the way for Princeton, shooting a 1-over par 73 to finish in a three-way tie for first and qualify for the individual title playoff. Will Madden was next for the Little Tigers with a 76, as they shot a four-player total of 308 to beat West Windsor-Plainsboro South by five strokes at Mercer Oaks Golf Course.
Earlier this season, the Pirates had handed Princeton its only loss with a 187-188 win in a dual match. Princeton had beaten WW-P South at the Cherry Valley Invitational.
"We’re so close and it is nice that two Mercer teams are considered the top two teams in the state," Severance said in reference to the latest Dorf Feature Service Top 20. "I am very happy about that. We are a very bonded team this year. There are no rivalries. No one is sad that someone else does better than they do. It’s really a great group that gets along so well.
"I was definitely nervous coming into today. South is a very good team. We won at Cherry Valley and then they beat us by one stroke in the dual match. That was a tough loss for us."
Princeton needed all of its players to be on their games as it lost any wiggle room it had when Bichsel had to leave after falling ill. That meant the four remaining golfers would all have their scores count against the team total.
Smith finished with a 79 and George Graham shot an 80 for the Little Tigers.
"George saw Jon leave, so he knew," Severance said. "I knew he was sick coming into today. And I said to him that we had someone else, who was not as good as you but is a good player who can take your place. He felt he would be OK to play. But he got out there and felt very weak. And he wouldn’t leave unless he was really sick."
But the remaining players all came through with solid rounds, leading Princeton to the team title.
"I was playing with one of the guys from South and I knew if I could beat him, we’d have a better chance," said Madden, whose score of 76 was good enough to finish seventh after a match of cards.
"That was what I was going for. Coach Severance has me going off last in the nine-hole matches because she likes to have someone strong finishing up. I feel like it is important. I have the experience and I feel comfortable in that situation and in the big tournaments.
"Our team is really close. We always get together before we start and huddle up about how we want to play each day. We really are a close team. Everyone likes being with each of the other guys."
The team win helped ease some of the disappointment for Teifer, a senior who lost on the second playoff hole for the overall title.
"It’s great because we didn’t win last year and we lost to South," he said. "Everyone was all about what South could do, so it was nice especially because we lost to them in the regular match. It has been a see-saw battle with them. It’s been a good rivalry. But when it comes right down to it, we want to win. It’s not a war, but it’s not as friendly as you might think."
The Little Tigers figured to get a strong test from WW-P South, and they did. Aloi, a former Cranbury-Plainsboro Little League standout, matched Teifer with a 73.
"The kids played well and they had fun," said WW-P South coach Russell Wray. "It is a good, friendly competition with Princeton.
"To have that kind of competition between the two schools, it really brings the players’ level of play up. I don’t know how accurate the rankings are, but right now we’re one and two in the state. To have that kind of competition right next door really enhances everyone’s game."