A new team finishes atop leaderboard at State Girls Golf Championship

BRIDGEWATER – Moorestown had been building toward this day for years and can now make the case as New Jersey’s No. 1 girls golf team.

The Quakers not only repeated as small-school Public B champion at the 25th NJSIAA Girls Golf Championship, they also delivered the best overall score on May 12 at sunny Raritan Valley Country Club.

Moorestown carded a shoot-five, count-four score of 307 to finish one stroke ahead of juggernaut Holy Angels, which has owned this event and was seeking a fourth consecutive overall title.

“These girls can play – all these girls can play,” Moorestown longtime coach Charlotte Heenan said. “The Holy Angels girls can play, the Moorestown girls can play.”

Holy Angels repeated as Non-Public champion with its 308, and Millburn captured the Public A large-school crown with 336.

Pingry junior Angela Liang cruised to the individual title with a 3-under-par 69 that was four strokes better than Millburn senior Ysabel Liu.

Here’s a breakdown of the NJSIAA’s three group championships, as well as the individual championship, aka the Tournament of Champions:

Public B

Moorestown’s 307 to win Public B was 49 strokes better than runner-up Old Tappan. The Quakers were the best on the course thanks to their balance, with a quartet shooting in the 70s.

Junior Savannah Laverty shot 74 and was fourth overall among more than 100 entries. Freshman Chloe Donohue and junior Lauren Patullo carded 77 apiece and senior Katherine Liu had 79.

“It’s amazing,” Laverty said. “I’m just so grateful to be here and be part of a great team, part of a great program, and be building an amazing team.”

Heenan is in her 20th season and said Moorestown’s humble beginnings started with one or two players occasionally qualifying as individuals. The team hardware mostly went to schools well north of Burlington County.

“I just felt like we needed to bring golf up in South Jersey,” Heenan said. "In the last 10 years, more and more schools are adding, and it’s just building that golf culture now in South Jersey.”

Public A

Millburn captured Public A with a 336 that was 31 shots better than runner-up Princeton. The Millers had a formidable 1-2 punch with Liu’s runner-up 73 and freshman Ava Zhong’s 74 placing her third overall. Senior Sanaya Joshi had 91 and sophomore Ananya Mandrekar 99.

Non-Public

Holy Angels’ 308 to win Non-Public was 21 strokes better than Pingry. Senior Olivia Lee and junior Eleanor Lim carded 75 apiece, with Lee fifth overall and Lim sixth via match of cards. Sophomore Ava Bang shot 78 and freshman Christine Park 80.

“I would have liked to have won the overall, but we played well,” Holy Angels longtime coach Patrick Dunne said. “We won the private schools, so that’s good.”