September 27, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount golf, hockey stay on path to playoffs
by TOM UTESCHER

Mount St. Joseph Academy’s golf and field hockey teams, both prime contenders for state championships this fall, easily won each of their regular-season engagements last week, the linksters attaining a 12-0 record while the hockey club improved to 10-1.

The defending state champs in golf, the Mounties claimed a pair of victories on the road to wrap up their eighth straight undefeated regular season in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. On Tuesday the Magic traveled to Paxon Hollow Golf Club to subdue the Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, 225-279, and two days later the team headed out to West Chester Country Club to vanquish Villa Maria, 238-255. The AACA tournament will take place on October 2 at Honeybrook Golf Club.

At the beginning of last week, Mount St. Joe’s hosted the league’s District 1 qualifier on the par-70 (37 out, 33 in) course at Twining Valley. Players who shot a score of 97 or better would be able to participate in the PIAA District 1 tournament, which will be held on two different courses near Limerick, Pa. on October 10 and 11.

In Monday’s event at Twining, MSJ freshman Samm Arena led the field with a round of 78 (42/36), and sophomore Carson Price was second overall with an 82 (44/38). Also making the cut for the Mount were sophomore Emily Gimpel (47/39-86), and juniors Nicole Weinrich (50/39-89) and Catherine Murphy (46/51-97). Other qualifiers included Gwynedd Mercy’s Melanie Reynolds (84), Tierney Sadowl (91), and Caitlin O’Connor (92).

Meanwhile, the Mount’s nationally-ranked field hockey team, the 2006 state runner-up in Class AAA, bounced back from a September 16 loss to national number one Wyoming Seminary to record three wins last week. In a Tuesday tilt, goals by Jen Sabia, Brit Gavin (assist: Laura Thistle), and Julie Reinprecht accounted for a 3-0 halftime lead over Merion Mercy. On a drive resulting from a Merion penalty corner in the second half, the ball deflected into the Mount goal off of a defender for a 3-1 final. The Golden Bears have been maintaining the third-place position among the Catholic academies, behind Mount St. Joe and its perennial rival, Villa Maria.

St. Basil, which has one of the newer hockey programs in the Academies League, fell 5-0 to a relaxed MSJ squad on Thursday as Katie Reinprecht collected a hat trick.

Friday night’s match on the turf at Christopher Dock also yielded a 5-0 victory for the Magic, but the atmosphere was much more intense than at the Basil bout. Dock’s Pioneers started the game with a 7-1 record that included a win over 2006 Class AA state runner-up Upper Perkiomen. They gave as good as they got through most of the first half, even after Sabia put Mount St. Joe on the board about 19 minutes in.