By: David Gurney
The South Brunswick High School girls golf team certainly did a good job concealing its youth.
It’s not often a team consisting of all sophomores and juniors can compete with the likes of the top teams in the state.
But youth certainly took its toll on the Vikings, who finished with an outstanding 7-3 record and some top individual scores in the area, but fell short of a team title in the Greater Middlesex Conference Championship and failed to qualify a golfer for the state tournament.
"We’re all sophomores and juniors, we were all forced to mature this year," sophomore Samantha Chromey said. "We know our age, we’re a young team, but we proved we can be strong not only in the future but now. We didn’t have any seniors to look up to, so we had to take it upon ourselves."
Yes, they’re all back, everyone from sophomores Chromey, Tatiana Kim and Autumn Yun, to juniors Emily Clark, Lupe Perez and Meghan Jackson.
All back from a team that averaged a stellar 199, and whose losses came to Hunterdon Central twice and Peddie on its home course.
"We didn’t have anyone qualify for states, but I had more girls who can shoot in 40’s than probably any team in the state," head coach Joe Dougherty said. "They’re an unbelievably special group of girls. It was only my second year coaching and I just have to wonder if I caught lightning in a bottle. All the young kids stepped up and took on leadership roles."
With no leader on the team, the players had to take it upon themselves to, almost alternately, take on leadership roles.
"Last year we had Courtney Snyder who led us as a senior," Chromey said. "In the beginning, we didn’t know who to look up to. But as it led into the season, everyone took charge and took a role. We didn’t have a captain, but everybody took a different role."
And they all did, almost taking turns each match turning in the highest individual score. In the Bunker Hill Golf Invitational early in the year, it was Kim (+13 on the year) and Chromey (+13.3) leading the way with a 93 and 94, good for sixth and eighth overall, respectively.
Perez guided the team in a win against Bridgewater with a 49, and a couple days later against West Windsor-Plainsboro North it was Chromey and Perez (+12.4) posting high scores of 45.Clark was the big surprise in the GMC Championships, registering a 47 and tying with teammate Kim in the top eight.
Also collecting top eight finishes was Chromey (second with a 45) and Yun (third with a 46.
"Autumn wasn’t on the team last year, came in here this year and proved to be one of the top six players," Dougherty said. "In terms of improvement, Tatiana and Lupe top the list. They took their scores down a significant amount. I think they shaved eight or nine strokes off their average. That’s just a big improvement any way you look at it."
It was improvement, but when there’s inexperience, there’s inconsistency.
It was when they didn’t step up as much as they wanted to, when the little trouble the team had stepped in.
Self-imposed pressure, though good for the competitive drive of the team, began to wear on the players trying to make the state cut.
"Even if you know if you played a team before and did well, everyone puts individual pressure on yourselves," Chromey said. "Everyone is learning to deal with handling pressure. It is not easy. We’re trying to make the state cut. A lot of us were close. When you’re that close and don’t get it, it only makes you want to try harder."
The person who made it easier for the girls to handle it was second-year coach Joe Dougherty, who worked one-on-one with the team often and used a more hands-on approach.
"A lot of us felt closer to coach Dougherty," Chromey said. "He taught us so much. Every day he’d take different girls out, play with us and teach us. Most coaches just send their players out for nine holes. But he had us doing putting drills, working on drives and long shots, just different situations.
"When it came to a match, it definitely helped. He’s one of the main reasons our season turned out the way it did."
Everyone is back for the Vikings next year, including varsity letterwinners Kaitlyn Brady and Priya Patel, which will only amplify expectations and put more pressure on the team to qualify for the individual state tournament.
But the team is ready.
"This team is on the right track, but there’s more work to be done," Dougherty said. "I’d like to see four girls qualify for the state tournament, which would be a school record. This team has the attitude and drive to make that happen."

