ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Members of the Princeton High girls’ golf team are all smiles after they placed first in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Championship last week at the Mercer Oaks West Golf Course. The Tigers posted a winning score of 334 with Allentown taking second at 379 in the event which took place on April 28. It marked the fourth straight year that PHS has won the tourney, formerly known as the Mercer County Tournament. Pictured, from left, are PHS head coach Jess Monzo, Jade Cadjee, Alice Ye, Kyuyoung Chung, Hannah Chang, and Yasna Shahriarian.
By Justin Feil
Alice Ye and Yasna Shahriarian made sure that the Princeton High girls’ golf team extended its Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Championship dominance.
Senior Ye joined senior Kyuyoung Chung and freshman Hannah Chang in the Top 5 and Shahriarian finished Top 10 to round out the scoring for the Tigers, whose top four finishers scored 334 to win by 45 strokes over runner-up Allentown at Mercer Oaks West Golf Course on April 28.
“It means a lot for us,” said Ye. “It means that we’re still in the game even after losing a couple of our seniors last year. And I think that being able to do it with the team again and in my senior year is just really special.”
Ye and Shahriarian, a junior, have never lost a CVC tournament. No one on PHS has. This is the fourth straight year that they’ve won the tournament, formerly known as the Mercer County Tournament. The winning never gets old.
“I feel like it is a pretty big deal, even though we have won it four times in a row now,” said Shahriarian. “I feel like this season has been really good. We were 8-0 going into CVC, and I feel like us winning it just really showed that we are a super strong team overall. We have a lot of teamwork and overall team bonding, and I’m really close with all of the girls in our team, and I think that demonstrated it really nicely.”
After Charlotte Reid of Allentown shot 1-over 73 to place first individually by a stroke over Gia Vitelli of Hightstown, PHS showed their depth of talent with the next three finishers. Chung shot 78, Chang carded an 80, and Ye fired a 86.
“It’s definitely tougher to continuously repeat or stay above everyone else, especially when there’s other people outside of Princeton putting you guys ahead,” said PHS head coach Jess Monzo. “So it’s tough. The girls know during the season the teams that are in our county, and when we play against them and we score what we score during the season, odds are most of the time that we are going to come out as a heavy favorite. But in golf, you can be a heavy favorite and not have a good day and lose everything. So for the girls to understand that and for the girls to play to the level they play at when they’re considered to be up top is big.”
The girls that return each year continue to strive to be better and to pick up for those that have graduated like last year’s CVC top golfer, PHS’ Jackie Zang. Ye was also fifth place individually last year, but shot four strokes better this year than last year at Mountain View Golf Course.
“I played pretty well,” said Ye. “I had good comeback holes. Towards the end, I got a little in my head, but overall I really was not mad at the round. And I think that I could have done better, but for the situation I was in, I think that we did very well and I did very well.”
Shahriarian shot 90, the same as three other golfers, and took 10th on a match of cards. She was six strokes better than a year ago when she placed 13th in the same tournament.
“I was pretty proud of my mindset going into it,” said Shahriarian. “I struggle with overthinking the shots, and when bad shots happen, I tend to overexaggerate them and look more into the future rather than the present. So I was pretty happy with my mental game playing throughout the CVC tournament.”
The Tigers have seen some of the top competition in the state in tournaments this year. That’s tested them, and prepared them for the best they can see. Chang has stepped into a big void left by Zang and the returning players are a year older and better.
“Hannah wasn’t asked to fill in, but she’s filling in and the other girls are starting to do the same,” said Monzo. “Alice is playing better than she played last year. Yasna is playing better than she played last year. Kyuyoung is looking exactly like the Kyuyoung from last season, where she went and did some really good things for our program. And they’re starting to all come together right at the end of the year. This is a time of the season where you want to be peaking, you want to be shooting low, you want to be hitting your shot and seeing your spots, and you want everything falling the way it is.”
Both Ye and Shahriarian have become important parts of the team. Ye moved to Princeton primarily for the academic excellence, and happened upon the golf team. She had no idea she could be part of a dynasty.
“When I saw that they had a really dominant golf team, I felt so lucky because I was like, I love playing golf and I wanted to get a place where everyone is good as well,” said Ye. “I didn’t know that. It was a pleasant surprise.”
Ye quickly began putting more time into her game. Joining the Tiger squad only helped her improve more.
“I started practicing a lot over the summer, attending NJPGA tournaments and really locking in,” said Ye. “So I think that and having friends who are good at golf also helped kind of reinforce ourselves. We kind of reinforce ourselves to each other and that mentality and that helped me improve very fast.”
Shahriarian joined the same year. She was a freshman at the time, and only really a year into playing seriously. After hitting infrequently with her father, she started to realize by eighth grade how much she enjoyed the sport. She got her own clubs, started working with a swing coach and quickly saw improvements. She was in the lineup as a freshman and has grown from there.
“It’s been such a joy,” said Shahriarian. “Genuinely the best people I’ve ever met. We have such strong team bonding. We’re don’t even have to do any exercises. Just from like day one, we were super, super close. We’re always laughing on the courses. We’re always talking. Just such a treat to be with these people. And these are like lifelong friends that I’ve made along the way.”
Each player’s talents, experience and contributions are valued. Ye has been steady for the Tigers as a senior leader this year.
“She definitely stepped up to be more of a vocal person at practice and talking through things and helping the underclassmen with their mechanics,” said Monzo. “So it’s been really cool to watch her kind of assume that role and take leadership without being asked or told to do any of it.”
Shahriarian will be one stepping up more next year when she’s a senior. Her light-hearted manner has been a plus. While she continues to focus on her improvements, she is also trying to deflect some of the pressures of the game.
“She likes to have a lot of fun and likes to enjoy herself when she’s out there,” said Monzo. “And I think the biggest thing is that she’s continuing to enjoy the game where she’s not making it a job. She’s keeping it a hobby, which is allowing her to have more fun with it. And when she’s having more fun, she’s able to play better, she’s able to shoot better. And when all that happens, she’s definitely the person that likes to keep it light at practice, likes to keep it light even when there’s a match, like not staying down. She’s always being positive.”
That’s easier said than done in the big spots and big tournaments, especially as an established powerhouse now. Princeton was scheduled to play in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Group A sectional tournament on May 5 in McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links in Egg Harbor for the chance to advance to defend their Public A group championship.
“I definitely think I got a lot out of it,” said Ye. “I think I was kind of hoping that the team dynamic wouldn’t change with new people coming in and such, and it didn’t, and I’m so happy for that. I love playing with Kyuyoung and Yasna just as much as I did the previous two years. And I think even if we don’t win states or don’t win sectionals — even though we will — I think that I had so much fun with the team, and it was a really great senior send-off. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”