Arena Arrives - The Mount 10th grader was the top golfer in District I

By TOM UTESCHER

As a Mount St. Joseph Academy freshman in 2003, Victoria Arena helped the Magic win the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies golf championship, and ended the season by qualifying for the PIAA state tournament.

She built on her success this fall, spearheading the MSJ squad in an undefeated romp through the AACA, and then going up against the best golfers in Southeastern PA to win the District I tournament. This earned her another appearance at States, where she would finish 18th.

The slim, raven-haired sophomore doesn't immediately strike you as a star athlete, but her horde of trophies, plaques, and medals has grown to the point that her parents are thinking of purchasing a cabinet to house them.

"She works hard, and she's very consistent," remarked Mount St. Joe coach Tom Casey. "She's very good off the tee; she never gets herself in trouble. She's always putting herself on the fairway in good spots. She's a very good putter, as well."

Arena and her teammates won all of their regular-season AACA matches by wide margins, and in the league tournament the Magic finished 130 strokes ahead of runner-up Villa Maria.

The District I tournament was staged on October 18 and 20 at the Turtle Creek Golf Club, near Limerick. Par for this course is 71, and Arena was not satisfied with her score on the first day, an 82 which placed her fourth in the field.

"I didn't play terribly, but I was unlucky on a few holes," she recalled.

For the second day, Arena revealed, "I just tried to make par on every hole, and not take great risks. It was cold and wet, so I figured par would be a good score. I also putted well; that saved me a lot."

She turned in the low round of the day, a 75, and her combined total for the two rounds landed her in a tie with Brittany Benvenuto, a junior from Neshaminy High School. The pair went back to the first hole for a playoff to determine the district champion, and Arena parred it while Benvenuto bogied.

"Victoria's very good with her clubs," MSJ's Casey observed. "She knows her capabilities and her distance with the various clubs. She's very thorough; she really thinks her game through."

For the state tournament, held at Springwood Golf Club in York, the Mount standout was seeded third amongst three-dozen players from across Pennsylvania.

"They had me playing with two 18-year-olds, and I was pretty nervous," the sophomore related.

Shooting an 87 each day on the par-72 circuit, she still improved her final standing from the year before, coming in 18^th as opposed to 25^th in 2003.

Arena's grandfather had been an avid golfer, and she related, "When my dad [Samuel] started to take up golf, that's when I started to play. I started out with the plastic clubs, and then I got my first set of metal clubs when I was seven. I played my first tournament when I was ten."

Her sister Samantha, 11, has taken to the links as well.

Arena plays out of Talamore Golf Club near Ambler, and for three years she's taken instruction from Harry Hammond, a pro at Whitford Golf Club in Exton, PA. This summer, she received the Sam Penecale Award as the Junior Girls Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Section of the PGA.

Strength training has added some distance to her drives recently, and she noted, "My short game and my putting have improved a lot.

"I played 12 tournaments this summer and fall, mostly in the tri-state area," she continued. "I've gained more confidence this year, and I think I proved something to myself at Districts."

A product of Gwynedd Mercy Elementary School, Arena enjoys a variety of subjects in the classroom. Although her family background is largely Italian, she's taking honors Spanish at the Mount, and feels her future career may well have an Iberian connection.

Over the winter, she says she'll work on strength training and conditioning, and will get out on the course when she can in order to maintain her swing.

"I know when April comes around she'll be back out there every day," Coach Casey said. "She's very serious about improving her game, and I can't see her doing anything except getting better and better."