BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
EDISON — With an appearance in the state tournament in May and an eighth-place finish in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, the J.P. Stevens High School co-ed golf team is headed in the right direction.
The Hawks used wins over Cardinal McCarrick, Edison and Colonia in the preliminaries to qualify for the GMC Tournament finals. They beat both Edison and Colonia by one stroke.
The team finished the season with a record of 9-10, and was led by juniors Sarah Feldman and Jason Almedia.
Feldman was the team’s top female golfer and the best in the GMC. She won the GMC individual championships with a 42 and was the only female to play with the males on the team.
"Sarah put in a lot of hard work," Stevens head coach Andy Eng said. "She has ability, skills, and her demeanor is good for golf. She doesn’t show emotion, and she doesn’t blow up after a bad shot and ruin the round. She always remains even keel, and her makeup is a real asset."
In addition to her GMC title, Feldman qualified for individual play in the state tournament. She finished in 13th place in the weather-shortened tournament.
"Unfortunately, they only played nine holes because of bad weather," Eng said. "Sarah really starts picking up the pace on the back nine and I am confident that she would have definitely finished in the top ten if the weather held up. However, those are the breaks of the game. She’ll be back next year and she will work hard in the off-season. I know she plans to play in several state and local tournaments."
Almedia averaged a 44 this season and is expected to be one of the team’s top players a year from now.
"Jason’s game has improved tremendously," Eng said. "He played a lot over the summer and he’s a stronger player, and he’s more mature."
Almedia’s control and consistency were the keys to his development.
"Jason has the ability to keep the ball in play," Eng said. "He plays a style where par is always in the equation. He consistently stays within striking distance of par or the potential birdie."
Almedia looks like the front-runner to fill the shoes of senior Stephen Chen. Chen was a member of the varsity golf team for four years and was this season’s team captain.
"Stephen sank a 10-foot putt in the playoffs against Edison to clinch the win," Eng said. "He possessed great leadership and responsibility needed to be a captain. He helped organize the team and helped guide some younger players that didn’t play high school golf before."
The success of Feldman has promoted an interest in golf among the female population that was previously nonexistent. As the reigning GMC champ, her influence is spreading.
"There has been a lot of interest shown among the girls at the high school," Eng said. "Hopefully, we can have a separate girls team as interest starts to build."