On the heels of its 161-174 victory over J. P. Stevens High School May 11, Sayreville War Memorial High School’s boys golf team heads into the finals of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament at The Meadows at Middlesex Golf Course in Plainsboro playing its best golf of the season.
Sayreville earned the ninth seed and had to square off against J.P. Stevens in a play-in match on the Hawks’ home West Nine course at the Plainfield Country Club, with the winner advancing to the final eight of the tournament.
Coach Tom McCloskey’s junior-laden lined was led by Tyler Jones, who carded a 38, with Andrew Surgent and James Pasko both finishing up with 40 strokes, and Nick Behr turned in a 43-stroke performance. Pasko struggled through the first two holes but returned to form after a lightning delay. Pasko and Jones turned in birdies on the eighth hole to pretty much seal the win.
“That was a tough match; we had a 30- minute delay and both teams still did well,” the Bombers’ coach said. “Our experience really paid off for us. Our guys were hitting shots that in the past we didn’t make. I’m very proud of them.”
The Bombers, who are 15-4 on the season and third in the GMC White Division, are also coming off a 160-shot performance in a tri-match May 7 at Rutgers University Golf Course that saw the blue and gray defeat both Edison High School and North Brunswick Township High School.
Surgent, who has come into his own this spring, paced the team with a 38, with Jones finishing the round with 39 strokes. Pasko and Behr turned in scores of 40 and 43 strokes, respectively. “We’ve been consistent as a team,” Mc- Closkey said. “Usually a team will have one or two very strong golfers, but all of our guys record similar scores. That way the pressure really doesn’t fall on one player’s shoulders.”
Pasko owns the team’s best average at 8- over par, and as McCloskey noted, his team has played on a variety of different courses. Surgent is at +9, and the lefty-swinging Jones is half a stroke behind, with Behr coming in at +10.
The coach added that his team has received strong contributions from captain Dan DeLucia and senior David Sivilli, both of whom were scheduled to play May 12 for Sayreville in the North Jersey Group IV Section II tournament at the challenging Trump National course in Bedminster. “Dan [DeLucia] is a great captain,” Mc- Closkey said. “He keeps the guys loose, he’s fun to be around, and he’s turned in some good rounds for us. David got hot for us in the middle of the season at a time when a couple of other guys tailed off. There was a two-week period where he pretty much carried our team.”
Sayreville’s four losses were all by six or fewer strokes, as divisional opponents Monroe Township High School and Colonia High School each bested the Bombers twice.
“This is a tight-knit [group] with six guys who can pretty much beat one another on any given day, yet they trust each other and root for each other,” McCloskey said. “We have a lot to build on. We were right with the top teams in our division, and the guys have won 15 matches.”