Knights' Relyea fires 85

for 3rd in NJAC tourney

-

      ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills freshman Lauren Relyea picked the perfect day to play her best golf of the spring.
      The Academy for Math and Science student from Bloomingdale fired an 85 at Farmstead Golf Club in Lafayette to finish third in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Girls Golf Championships held Thursday, May 20.
      Relyea, the only girls on the Knights' golf team this spring, toured the 5,600-yard, par-72 layout (Lakeview to Clubview) in 40-45 to finish 10 strokes off the pace set by individual champion Christine Kim of Parsippany Hills and only one shot behind runnerup Sarah McGill of West Morris.
     The highlight of Relyea's round came on the back nine when she birdied Clubview's 435-yard par-5 fourth hole when she reached the green in three and drained an 18-foot putt for a 4.
    "She started out with a double-bogey 6 on each of the first two holes," Morris Hills golf coach Kevin Rosenberg said after the match. "But she straightened out and shot a sizzling 28 over the final seven holes on the front to finish with a  40, her best nine-hole score of the season."
      Relyea's scoring average for each nine-hole round this past spring is 48.3, although she has averaged 44.6 for her last 10 nine-hole outings.
      "She started out slowly but improved through a lot of hard work and determination," Rosbenberg said. "She is the type of athlete for whom you love to root because of how hard she works to improve her game ... she has been getting better and better each day since just before the halfway point of the season.
      "She'll continue to work on her game in the off-season and says she plans to enter maybe 10 tournaments over the summer in order to stay sharp. 
      "Plus, she is one of those special athletes who plays better in big matches and tournaments ... we couldn't be more proud of what she did in the conference tournament and what she had done for us all spring."
      Notes: Mendham won the team championship with a two-golfer team total of 171, a whopping 15-shot edge over runnerup Butler ... West Morris (193), Randolph (194) and Pope John (195) rounded out the top five teams in the 15-team field ... Relyea would have attended Butler High School had she not enrolled in the Math and Science Academy at Hills.

---

Morris Hills falls to Pope John

     ROCKAWAY - Bruce Hurt shot a team-best 43 when Morris Hills lost a 163-189 decision to Pope John in a high school golf match played at the Newton County Club on Thursday, May 13.
     Hurt was seven-over par over Newton's par-36 front nine as the Knights' record slipped to 3-16 for the season.
     Lauren Relyea finished with a 48 and Satjeet Banga and Christopher Budd each carded 49s to round out the four-man scoring  totals for Morris Hills.
     Damian Garrett finished with a 54 and Patrick Lyness shot a 57 as the Knights' No. 5 and No. 6 players in the match.

---

Knights fall to Morris Catholic

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills and Morris Catholic high school golf teams braved the wet weather for a nine-hole round of golf at Flanders Valley Golf Club on Wednesday, May 12, and Morris Catholic came away with a 184-197 victory over the Knights.
    Playing the par-36 White, Morris Catholic's Rich Cadmus shot a 42 for the best round of the day.
   Lauren Reyla finished with a 48 for Morris Hills with Chris Budd and Satjeet Banga each posting 49s and Damien Garrett finishing with a 51.
     Morris Hills is 3-15 for the spring; Morris Catholic improved to 12-12 with the victory.

---

Knights finish 24th in NJAC tourney

      ROCKAWAY - Chris Budd shot a 95 and Lauren Relyea added a 96 as Morris Hills finished 24th in the 33-team, 133-golfer field at the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Golf Championships held at Berkshire Valley Golf Club in Oak Ridge on a cold and windy Monday, May  10.
      Budd had nines of 49 and 46 over the par-71, 6,354-yard layout while Relyea finished with nines of 51 and 45.
      Satjeet Singh shot a 56-48-104 and Damien Garrett posted a 57-51-106 to round out the four-golfer team for Morris Hills.
      Delbarton won the team title with a 320 with freshman Frank Szucs firing a 39-34-73 to win individual honors.

---

Knights winning streak comes to a halt

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills golf team's three-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday, May 6, when the Knights lost to Vernon, 181-194, in a match played at Great Gorge Golf Club in Vernon.
      Bruce Hurt and Chris Budd toured the par-35 Quarryside nine-hole layout with identical rounds of 46 to lead the Knights (3-12). Lauren Relyea shot a 49 and Satjeet Banga came in with a 53.
     "The kids had a tough time playing Great Gorge because none of them had ever played here before," said Morris Hills coach Kevin Rosenberg after the match. "We'll be better the next time we play the course.
     "Now, we'll regroup a little and get ready to play the conference tourney on Monday."
     The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference will hold its first conference championship tournament on Monday, May 10, at Berkshire Valley Golf Course in Oak Ridge. The tournament is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

---

Hills beat Knolls for third straight victory

     ROCKAWAY - It has been a long time since Morris Hills beat sister-school Morris Knolls in a high school golf match - at least 20 years, Eagles' coach Rob Moore told Knights' coach Kevin Rosenberg as he was congratulating him on his 180-183 victory at Picatinny Golf Course in Rockaway Township on Wednesday, May 5.
      The victory was Morris Hills' third in a row after opening the season with 11 losses. Morris Knolls is now 2-11.
      "It has also been a long time since we have won three matches in a row," Rosenberg said after the match. "And it took two of our golfers shooting their best rounds of the season to do it, too."
     Satjeet Banga shot a season-low nine-hole score of 39 over Picattiny's par-36 front that includes back-to-back birdies on the par-5 third and the par-4 fourth.
      And Lauren Relyea, a freshman, fired her season-low of 41.
 "Satjeet and Lauren really stepped up for us today," Rosenberg said. "To register their best scores of the year in a match against our biggest rival is really a big-time performance by them."
      Chris Budd shot a 47 for Morris Hills and Bruce Hurt carded a 53 to complete the scoring for the team. Damien Garrett (55) and Patrick Lynees (55) were the fifth and sixth men for the Knights.
      Morris Knolls was not without its good news as freshman Zach Caggins qualified for the individual state tourney with his team-best round of 40 to reach the five rounds of 4-over-par or better needed to qualify.
      "It's a great accomplishment for a freshman," said Moore after the match. "Zach showed his mental toughness by parring the last two holes to get down to the score he needed."
      Caggins will have some new fans when he competes in the Group 4 North Jersey Sectional at Alpine Country Club on Monday, May 17.
      "I'm happy Zach qualified for the state today," Rosenberg said. "He is a great kid and an excellent golfer and I can tell you that all the Morris Hills golfers will be rooting for him at the state tournament."

---

Knights beat Mo'town to launch a win streak

      ROCKAWAY - Kevin Rosenberg's Morris Hills golf team got its first victory last week and, after beating Morristown, 192-194, on Tuesday, May 4, at Springbrook CC in Morristown for their second straight victory, the Knights are on their first winning streak.
     Morris Hills (2-9) split a tri-match at Minebrook GC in Hackettstown on Wednesday, April 28, losing a 159-186 verdict to county-power West Morris and beating High Point, 186-190, for the Knights' first win of the spring.
     "Lauren Reyla was our last player in and when she said she had shot a 46, I knew we had beaten High Point," Rosenberg was saying after the Morristown match on Tuesday. "That 46 was the lowest nine-hole round she had scored in the last five-six matches ... it came at a good time, too."
     Chris Budd's 45 was the best round of the day for the Knights in the West Morris-High Point tri-match. Satjeet Banga scored a 46 as well and Damian Garrett shot a 49 to complete the Knights' scoring.
     In Tuesday's victory over Morristown, Banga shot a 43; Reyla carded a 47; Budd shot a 49; and Garrett came home with a 53.
     "We have been scoring better but getting beat by really good teams," Rosenberg said. "So it's nice to score well and actually get a couple of wins, too.
      "This team is very young - three freshmen and a sophomore in our top four - they have been improving during the season and now they are starting to gain some confidence in themselves as well."

---

Knights slip to 0-8 with loss to Par Hills

     ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills remained winless in eight outings as the Knights lost a 170-194 decision to Parsippany Hills in a match played on the Red Course at Flanders Valley Golf Course on Tuesday, April 27.
     Chris Budd shot a 45 over the par-36 layout and was followed by teammates Satjeet Banga, who shot a 46; Damien Garrett, who posted a 49; and Andrew Hicinbothm, Laurey Reyla and Patrick Lynes, each of whom finished with a 54.
    The win puts Parsippany Hills at 5-7 for the spring season.

---

Knights finish 19th in Morris County Golf Tournament

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School golf team shot a four-man total of 424 to finish 19th in the Morris County Golf Tournament held at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township on a cool and windy Monday, April 19.
     The Knights' Andrew Hichinbothem shot a 46-54-100 over the Arsenal's 6379-yard, par 71 layout. He was followed by teammates Bruce Hurt (51-52-103), Satjeet Bonga (48-59-107) and Damian Garrett (60-54-114).
     John Voetsch of Delbarton and Ben Alcorn of Chatham fired 76s to tie for first place in the 88-golfer field. Voetsch rolled in a 25-foot par putt on the fourth extra hold to claim the individual title.
     Delbarton also won the team champion with a four-man total of 320, 25 shots better than runnerup Mendham.
     Morristown-Beard was third with a score of 349; Randolph and Chatham tied for fourth a stroke back with scores of 350; Jefferson (355) was sixth; Madison (360) seventh; West Morris (362) eighth; Morris Knolls (367) ninth; and Parsippany Hills (371) was 10th to complete the top ten teams in the 22-team field.

---

Knights fall to 0-4 after loss to Mount Olive

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School golf team is still looking for its first win of the spring after losing to Mount Olive, 178-188, in a match at MineBrook GC in Hackettstown on Wednesday, April 14.
     Satjeet Banga shot a 41 for the best round of the day over the par-36 front nine to lead the Knights (0-4).
     Damien Garret finished with a 45 and Andrew Hicinbothem and Lauren Reyla each posted 52s for Hills.
     Mount Olive improved to 3-1 with the win.

---