Schiffman captured county title
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
The Hillsborough High boys weren’t going to let another golf season spiral out of control.
Last year, the Raiders started with a bang but strolled off stage with a losing streak that left a sour taste at the end of the season. Hillsborough started fast again in 2009, completing a perfect April with two tournament titles and a 6-0 record in regular season matches.
May brought a few bumps and hiccups, but the Raiders were determined not to let the rest of the season go downhill. The HHS boys regrouped like a mature, veteran, battle-tested team should and won their final six matches to win the Skyland Conference Delaware East Division title.
”They just didn’t let those losses bother them,” HHS head coach Paul Parker said. “They were disappointed losing to Central, but we didn’t play well that day. They just came out and did what they had to do after that. Last year, everything just fell apart. This year, we won a couple of matches by one or two strokes. We had a little bit of luck. You need that in sports.”
Hillsborough (13-3) put together quite a resume in 2009. The Raiders rolled through April, setting the tone for the season by taking the team title at the very competitive Cherry Valley Invitational. Parker realized that day he might have a special team.
Two weeks later, the Raiders won the Somerset County Tournament team title. Senior Zach Schiffman fired a sparkling 72 to win the individual championship.
The losses in the middle of the season didn’t stop the Raiders, who faced a little more adversity in the Skyland Conference Championships. They finished third in the team standings but were disqualified due to a scorecard error. Hillsborough also finished third in the North Group 4 sectional and missed the Tournament of Champions by one place.
All three HHS losses came on the road vs. Watchung Hills at Warrenbrook, vs. Hunterdon Central and Copper Hill and vs. North Hunterdon at Beaver Brook. The Raiders went 9-1 in their own division and 4-2 against the West. Their highest score was 218 and they won that match. Hillsborough consistently shot in the 190-200 range.
”Ten years ago, that would have been a 16-0 season,” Parker said. “Golf has become so competitive.”
Hillsborough’s lineup was deeper this spring, and that made a big difference. The top scores remained pretty much the same, but the fifth and sixth men produced many low rounds this spring.
”The biggest difference was that our fifth and sixth men came in with pretty decent scores,” Parker said. “Last year, we’d always be ahead with our first four guys but then we’d lose it. We had five guys in the 30s a few times this year.”
The Raiders had three players who took turns leading the team on any given day. Schiffman and fellow senior Mike Voitovich will be difficult to replace. They finished tied for second in their division and fifth overall at the Skyland Championships. Schiffman (38.1) and Voitovich (38.3) also played to an impressive average of around two-over-par for nine holes.
Voitovich made huge improvements during his high school years. After not making the team as a freshman, he continued to work and played jayvee for a year before finishing with two varsity seasons. Voitovich shot a scintillating 33 in the team’s late season victory over Warren Hills.
”He was unbelievable this year,” Parker said. “He was our most improved golfer. He put up some great scores.”
Junior Ryan Hengerer, who led the team in nine-hole scoring average (37.2), took second place at Cherry Valley and sixth at the sectionals, missing the T of C cutoff by one spot. Fellow junior Matt Molinari was out for part of the season with an injury but made an impact with some big rounds. Molinari was the tiebreaker in the Cherry Valley title and finished the year with a 39 in the team’s win over Bridgewater-Raritan.
The Raiders will lose Schiffman, Voitovich, Eric Van Dongen and Doug Beach to graduation. Hengerer, Molinari and promising sophomore John Limyansky will be back to lead next year’s team.
Hillsborough will be hard-pressed to duplicate the success of the 2009 season. The Raiders won a division and county title, something no other team in the high school accomplished this spring.
”It was an equal reward,” Parker said. “In the division, you can lose and come back the next day. They sign of a good team is coming back and keeping your composure and not letting things snowball. Winning the division is a long-term thing. At Cherry Valley and in the counties, it just happened to be our day. We just played well on those days. When the bell rang, we were ready to go.”