Female Golfer Leads Boys Team To Fourth-Place Finish at Counties; Qualifies for States in the Process

For the third consecutive season, the Schreiber High School golf team won the Conference III championship. In 10 matches this season, the Vikings went 9-1 and shut their opponents out on four separate occasions.

At the beginning of the golf team's season, coach Kathleen Doughty said she expected at least five of her golfers to qualify individually for the Nassau County Championships — and coach certainly knows best.

Schreiber had six golfers qualify individually for the Nassau County Championships, where the team finished fourth overall. Senior Kelly Shon, the team's only female golfer, finished second individually at counties, qualifying her for the state tournament in the process.

Shon, who will attend Princeton University in the fall, was one of just three girls participating in the Nassau County Championships and has been on the Schreiber boys varsity golf team since eighth grade.

"I've had Kelly with me for five years, and in those five years it's been unbelievable," said Doughty of the team's ace. "I think she had a great year. Her game has just gotten better. She's much stronger than when she started five years ago, and I would say even noticeably stronger from last year."

The incredibly strong year had by Shon can be validated by a hole-in-one she shot against Glen Cove earlier this month.

"To be completely honest, I wasn't all that excited because I always thought that mine came a little late," Shon said of the first hole-in-one of her golf career. "I was waiting for my first hole-in-one to be a bit of a grander situation — it was just a rainy match against Glen Cove."

Shon, who finished the season with the distinction of All-County, said she is ready to take on the competition at the state championships which are being held in Arizona this week.

"I'm really excited," Shon said about her trip to the state championships. "I can kind of expect what it's going to be like because I went two years ago and I really can't wait."

Accompanying Shon at the county championships were Ross Balaban, Peter Doscos, Jerry Lange, Paul Tasnady, and Chris Yap — all of whom were All-Conference players, except for Yap who earned the title of All-County Honorable Mention.

"It's a nice blend of kids," Doughty added. "The kids really seem to respond to each other, they seem to enjoy each other. They support one another."

The six members of the Schreiber golf team who qualified for the county championships had a combined record of 40-8-5 during the team's regular season — a large part of why the team did so well.

"I'm just really proud of not just this year, but our past two seasons," Shon emphatically said of her teammates. "I think we've all come very far, not just individually, but as a team. We're all leaving after having learned a great deal. I'm just really proud to be part of Port Washington golf."

This season mark the fifth time in six years that the Schreiber golf team has won its conference.

"They've really had an incredible run," a proud Doughty said of her team. "We were conference champs this year. We were undefeated conference champs last year. It's been a really successful program."

The team's finish at counties, along with Shon's invite to the state championships, marks another fantastic season for the Schreiber Vikings, and further distinguishes the team as one of the elite golf squads on Long Island.