The defending GSAC and Region 19 Champion RCSJ Roadrunner Men's and Women's Golf teams got off to a great start by establishing themselves as the early front runners in this season's campaign.
With decisive victories in both the season opener on Friday's frigid match at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Allentown, PA (3/22/24) hosted by Lehigh Carbon Community College and then on Monday (3/26/24) at LBI National hosted by Ocean County College, the Roadrunners proved that their new lineup is every bit as effective as the group that dominated Region 19 play last season.
Led by Captains Logan Perrone and Nancy Davidson, the young squad took down the field at frosty Twin Lakes (28 degrees at tee time), which included Lehigh Carbon Community College, Union County College, and the County College of Morris by a convincing margin, besting runners-up Lehigh Carbon by 27 strokes, and CC Morris finishing 28 strokes behind the champs. RCSJ's team score of 330 was the lowest score posted in Coach Guy Davidson's tenure. Contributing to the success were Logan Perrone (77), and newcomers Nick Iuliucci (80), Eddie Mazurkiewicz (81) and Hayes Hulitt (92). Paul Welker shot 96 in the starting lineup and Alex Seber shot 86 in exhibition play.
Perrone's 77 was the lowest score in official competition by an RCSJ golfer since the program resumed NJCAA competition in 2021 and the second-lowest round of the day behind only Union's returning All-American Patrick Murray (76).
Nancy Davidson had the low round in women's competition (93) and Alaina Villari (113) continued to demonstrate her athletic versatility after successful soccer and basketball seasons. Newcomers Lanie Guzman and Dimia Donaldson also played exhibition rounds, preparing for posting official scores in the weeks to come and once again establishing the Roadrunners as the only complete women's golf team in Region 19.
The Runners followed up Friday's win with another victory over a more complete field at LBI National on Monday by posting a total of 366, outpacing Lehigh Carbon by 16 strokes. Monday's field included hosts Ocean County College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, the County College of Morris, RCSJ Cumberland, and Union County College. The Stockton University NCAA Division 3 Women's Team joined the Runners' women for friendly competition on the women's side. The Runner men were competing without their #2, Nick Iuliucci, who was sidelined by illness. Contributing to the scoring were Logan Perrone (87), Eddie Mazurkiewicz (89), Hayes Hulitt (92), and Paul Welker (98). Union County College standout Patrick Murray (77) was the medalist once again and RCSJ Cumberland's Mateo Medina (84) was the individual runner-up. Perrone's 87 was good for a T-3 on a difficult day for scoring at the tougher track in the cold conditions.
Nancy Davidson posted another sub-100 round by rallying on the back 9 and she was once again joined on the course by Alaina Villari, Lanie Guzman, and Dimia Donaldson.
Coach Davidson commented on the team's hot start:
'Logan Perrone has established himself as one of the top golfers in the Region, which is no surprise to us. He's dedicated himself to practice and works very diligently on his game. Clearly, our newcomers are following his lead and have embraced the way we do things at RCSJ. I'm very pleased with our early season chemistry and the way we battled in very cold conditions in these first two matches. I think we've proven to the rest of the Region that our new golfers are ready to compete. We look forward to continuing their development as we shoot to be playing our best toward the season's end."
"We're very proud of our women, led by Nancy Davidson. Alaina Villari, our best athlete, did a great job of bringing along Lanie Guzman from the RCSJ Soccer team, and we're so pleased to have Dimia Donaldson learning the game with us. They've all been working very hard to prepare for late-season tournament play as we look once again to field a complete team in the National Women's Tournament at Chautauqua."
The Roadrunners will be in action again on Monday April 1 at Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth, NJ hosted by Union County College.