No surprises for CHA at golf championships

by TOM UTESCHER

When the scorecards for Chestnut Hill Academy's golfers were totaled up at the Inter-Ac individual championships on May 25, the results were consistent with the Blue Devils' 4-6, 5^th place showing in the regular-season league matches this spring.

On a sunny, relatively calm afternoon at par-72 Sunnybrook Golf Club (CHA's home course), Inter-Ac co-champion Malvern Prep ran away from the field as its four participants combined for a score of 311. Freshman Kevin Huntington, whose tee time was right in the middle of the field of 24, fired a 73 for the Friars, and one stroke behind was his teammate Bill McCrossan, a junior who was also runner-up at last year's tournament at Philadelphia Cricket Club.

The other five teams were tightly bunched with aggregate scores in the 330's: Penn Charter at 330, Germantown Academy - 333, Episcopal - 334, Haverford - 336, Chestnut Hill - 337. Splitting their regular-season tilts, Malvern and Haverford shared the 2004 league championship, each with a 9-1 record. Third-place GA (6-3-1) and fourth-place Episcopal (4-5-1) tied one another in one of their two head-to-head bouts this year. Chestnut Hill was fifth with a 4-6 mark, and Penn Charter wound up on the short end, 0-10.

In last week's individual tourney, Malvern's Huntington parred 11 holes and registered three birdies and four bogies for his one-over score. In regular Inter-Ac matches this spring (only nine holes are played), he came in on par three times.

GA senior Pete Duryea chalked up 40 strokes on the way out last Tuesday, but he tightened up his game to play just one over par on the back nine to finish third overall with a 77. In 2003, the Patriots' leader had wound up in a three-way tie for third place.

This year, only two other players would come in under 80 strokes, Haverford senior Britt Murdoch (78) and Malvern sophomore Cole Wilcox (79). Penn Charter's best round, an 80, came from freshman Brett Falkoff, and senior Nick Nottebohm led Episcopal with a round of 81. Piling up one stroke back at 82 were four other golfers; Charter senior Chris Walling, EA tenth grader Reed Valutas, and two CHA players, sophomore Nick Pearson and freshman Mike Soowal.

The team score for the PC Quakers was rounded out by a pair of 84's from sophomore Tedd Meyer and freshman Tim Walling, while GA received 85's from both senior Harry Mirabile and junior Adam Prince, and an 86 from freshman Brian O'Neil. The only eighth-grader participating, Chestnut Hill's Chip Culp, carded an 86, and Blue Devil sophomore Jason Ochroch turned in an 87.

As an eighth grader last year, CHA's Soowal had tied for third at the championships, shooting a 73 at par-71 Philly Cricket.

This year, he said, "I played decently, but I played three tournaments in a row before the Inter-Ac, and maybe that wore me down a little bit."

He probably would've broken 80 if not for a debacle on the 18^th hole, where he drove his tee shot into the bunker and was in trouble the rest of the way, taking eight shots on a par-4. He was playing in the final foursome with some of the league's top golfers, but by the time they were halfway through the back nine it was clear that no one was going to equal the score turned in earlier by Huntington.

"We weren't that aware of the other scores out on the course," Soowal noted, "but I'd missed a couple of putts and I figured I wasn't really in it for the championship."