J.P. Stevens High School pitcher Frank LoGuidice delivers a pitch to an Old Bridge High School hitter during an April 17 game played in Edison. LoGuidice threw a complete game five-hitter as the Hawks edged the Knights, 4-3. MATT DENTON J.P. STEVENS
With a roster that features six of 11 players who weren’t on the J.P. Stevens High School boys golf team a year ago, its 9-2 record this spring is pretty impressive.
That mark includes an eight-stroke victory over Monroe Township High School at Forsgate Country Club April 15, which stamped the Hawks as more than just an average team.
“We set a team goal of staying competitive throughout the year, and so far we have achieved that,” head coach John Canova said. “We are extremely young and inexperienced with two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.”
A hint the Hawks (8-13 a year ago) would improve can be traced back to last year when their overall stroke average went down significantly during the second half of the season. Now that many are regulars, the improvement has continued.
The leading player is junior Rohit Iyer, whose 3 under par (for nine holes) at Forsgate qualified him for the state individual championships next month. Iyer is averaging about a stroke over par on the season.
Junior Dan Defilippo is next with a 9.8 strokes over par average, followed by sophomore Thomas Hsu (11.5 strokes over par) and senior Kevin Kim (17.7 strokes over par).
As a member of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division, the Hawks face tough upcoming matches against quality teams, including favorites South Brunswick High School and defending GMC Tournament champion East Brunswick High School.
“The winter weather carried over to the first couple weeks in April, and that hampered all teams’ preparation for the season,” Canova said. “We tried to spend quality time in the classroom, discussing rules and the strategies we would use when we faced opponents.”
The J.P. Stevens girls team is 4-0, but head coach Patty Savulich admits the tougher portion of the schedule has yet to be played. Victories have come against Mother Seton Regional High School (twice), Edison High School and Sayreville War Memorial High School.
Savulich said she is still experimenting with different combinations to the lineup. Regulars include senior captains Amber Lin and Jamie Kang, junior Riya Juneja, sophomores Grace Wu and Victoria Tan and freshmen Vritti Vazirani and Roshni Shenoy. Others looking to see action are Esha Khandelwal, Tiya Singh and Meera Trivedi, along with newcomers Alicia Kang and Alicia Li.
Wu was the team’s top player a year ago when J.P. Stevens finished 8-8 and continues to play solid golf despite the fact that the Hawks’ home matches are at the challenging Metuchen Country Club.
METUCHEN
That is also the home course for the
Metuchen High School boys and girls teams, which continue to produce quality results each spring. Last season, the boys finished 10-4 and qualified for the state tournament for the fifth consecutive year. The girls finished fourth in the GMC Tournament and recorded a 4-4 mark.
This spring, the boys and girls have yet to lose a dual match and are 6-0 and 5-0, respectively.
“We’ve had a good start, and the goals we set are in sight,” head coach Rich Stoner said. “However, we still have a lot of work to do in order to play more consistent golf. The girls are working hard and looking to improve every match. The experience now will help us in the bigger tournaments.”
The boys are led by seniors Matt Biancamano, Matt Zeng, Artie Flaherty Jr., Connor Gil, Brandon Switzer and Joe Misdea and sophomores Colin Gaven and Tom Resko.
The girls team consists of senior Brittany Morgan, sophomores Hannah Small, Morgan Switzer, Siya Zhang, Bella Stern and Haley Nugent and freshman Katie Nugent.
ST. JOSEPH
Although the St. Joseph High School of Metuchen golf team is 3-3, the record is somewhat deceptive since a number of golfers were not available for matches during the spring break.
“The guys are using their [current record] as motivation to get back to where we always are, and that’s competing for the GMC Tournament title,” head coach Ryan Lechner said.
The Falcons finished 12-3 last season, including third place in the GMC Tournament. The roster features two high quality golfers in senior Gabe Rivera and junior Tom Summers, both of whom average 3 strokes over par. Juniors Chris Taraska and Peter Coronato and seniors Josh Singer and Ethan Donnelly average 4-5 strokes over par.
Lechner said Rivera has been accepted to Penn State University’s Professional Golf Management (PGM) program.
USA Football
More than 150 New Jersey college hopefuls were at Edison High School April 18 and 19 when USA Football held one of 24 regional development camps.
The two-day event is designed to enable prospective college players to train and learn skills on and off the field from current NCAA coaches and former NFL players.
In addition, they are trying out for berths on the 2016 national team.
Through individual drills, 1-on-1 and 7- on-7 competitions and character and skill development sessions, athletes were exposed to techniques designed to help them become better players.
Local instructors included coaches from Princeton University, The College of New Jersey and William Paterson University.