Gateway golfers look to finish season strong

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 15, 2018 | 3:27 PM

The Gateway boys golf team delivered its best performance of the season last Thursday against Fox Chapel at Murrysville Golf Course.

Led by a 37 from senior Jason Reber and a 38 from senior Marc Caggiano, the Gators finished with a five-golfer score of 206.

Senior Ryan Margolis added a 41, sophomore Jake Valentine shot a 44 and sophomore Cody Beckwith tallied a 46.

However, it was not enough as Fox Chapel recorded a 177 team score and won the Section 4-AAA match.

“The section has really tough competition,” Gateway coach Paul Doonan said. “We have been pretty competitive and have picked up some nice wins.”

Reber, Caggiano, Margolis, Valentine and Beckwith returned this season with varsity experience.

The Gators stood at 6-5 overall and 5-5 in section play through the match with Fox Chapel. Section matches remain with Franklin Regional (Sept. 24) and Plum (Sept. 26).

Gateway defeated Plum, 214-222, on Sept. 5 at Murrysville Golf Course behind Margolis’ match-low 40. The Gators lost to the Mustangs twice last year.

Gateway topped Penn Hills, 223-247, on Sept. 11 at Green Oaks Country Club as Margolis shot 41, Marc Caggiano recorded a 42, and senior Troy Caggiano, a first-year player for the Gators, finished with a 43 to lead the way.

“We were surprised how well Green Oaks drained,” Doonan said. “We were expecting a soggier track considering all the rain we got the previous couple of days. There were occasions where the ball plugged, but for the most part, balls were bouncing down the fairways.”

Gateway was well represented Monday at the section qualifier at Willowbrook Golf Course. The event finished after this week’s deadline.

Gateway girls golf

Gators coach Andrew Estok said his team has made progress through the first half of the season, and it was evident Aug. 30 when the team scored its first win, a 236-242 triumph over Connellsville at Pleasant Valley Country Club.

Junior Abby Secrist used her veteran experience and led the way as medalist.

The Gators then captured a close victory against Kiski Area on Sept. 12 on Butler’s Hyland Golf Course.

The teams finished tied at 242, and the match went to a tiebreaker. Secrist and fellow junior Annie Garness each golfed for Gateway in the tiebreaker and brought home the victory.

Secrist shot a 48 as medalist, and Garness fired a career-best 52. Secrist’s career best of 47 came against Greensburg Central Catholic in last year’s season finale.

“It’s pretty exciting to see the team get those two wins,” Estok said. “We have a young team, which is learning and getting better every day, and the wins really helped with their confidence.”

The match with Connellsville was in Section 3-AAA play, and as of Sept. 13, Gateway stood at 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the section.

The Gators were slated to host Norwin on Tuesday and Connellsville on Wednesday at Murrysville Golf Course. They were to be contested past the deadline for this week’s edition.

The WPIAL section qualifier was set for Thursday at Victory Hills Golf Course, and Secrist will compete along with fourth-year senior Sarah Gallagher.

Third-year junior Emma McFarland also has varsity experience, and the team also features newcomers in juniors Kaylee Schaefer and Alison Zeigler and senior Hera Muktar.

Gateway returns to section action Monday (Sept. 24) at Indiana.

“We have a couple of matches coming up where we hope to be competitive,” Estok said.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.