By Matthew Cowen ’13, Staff Writer

The Newark Academy golf team had a solid, yet somewhat frustrating season. Although the team’s record stands at a respectable 14-5, they have lost pivotal matchups versus rivals MKA and Livingston. In fact, the Minutemen have lost twice against each of these teams. The widest margin of defeat was just seven strokes. “We’ve been right there,” says sophomore Daniel Wilf, “but for some reason we just weren’t been able to win the tight matches against tough competition.”

This season began with lofty expectations for a Newark Academy team that had won the North Non-Public B State Championships three times in the last four years. After starting the season ranked number 14 in the Star Ledger Top 20, the Minutemen slipped out of the rankings after suffering a season-opening defeat at the hands of MKA. A goal for the team has been getting back into the rankings, and staying there. The 2011 squad wanted to be remembered as one that continued the trend of winning state championships, not as the team that could not get the job done.

Newark Academy’s drop in the golf rankings is similar to that of a certain Tiger Woods. Woods had been ranked number one in the world for 281 consecutive weeks until being passed by Lee Westwood in late 2010. Now, Tiger has slipped to eighth. Combining his poor on-course performance with his personal problems and injuries, it seems as if Woods may never regain his position as number one, and may never break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles, something that once seemed inevitable. This is where the paths of Tiger Woods and Newark Academy golf seem to diverge. For Woods, everything is trending downwards, as his season gets worse and worse. For NA, the Minutemen golfers seem excited at the possibilities that the upcoming championship season brings.

“We’ve struggled a bit lately,” says junior Griffin Glatt. “But hopefully we will peak at the end of the season when it really counts, at States and Preps. The whole season has been about preparing for them.” This is especially true for senior captain Jake Goldenring. Goldenring, who last year was a Second Team All-State selection, has been a consistent force for the Minutemen yet again in 2011. He combines with Steven Wilf and Eric Neiman to form a trio of senior leaders that carry the team. “Jake’s the man,” says Glatt. “He leads by example, is a great player and fun to be around. He set the bar so high for himself with his performance last year, but other than one or two bad matches, it’s been same old Jake.”

The Minutemen know that golf can be an unforgiving game. This is why the team knows that it is not about avoiding poor scoring and losing matches. They know that it is about recovering from those missteps and performing well at the most critical moments. The team did just that. After a 13-year drought, the Minutemen Golf Team brought home the Prep Championship B title. A week later, the team won the Non Public B Tournament of Champions Title for the fourth time in five years.