Raiders Golf Team Commences Season

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High golf team is prepared to take the links with a
balanced lineup that has coach Steve Ciccotelli believing a good season is ahead.

The Raiders, who played in a tournament in North Carolina recently, will be led by
junior John Foti, a fourth-place finisher in last year's Union County Championships
where the Raiders took second as a team behind Westfield.

The Raiders open the season Monday against Ridge, then play Westfield Tuesday at Echo Lake. The team will be made up of a freshman, four sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.

The Raiders' home matches will be at either Shackamaxon Golf and Country Club or at the Scotch Hills Country Club.

"I think we have a chance to be pretty good," said Coach Ciccotelli, also the school's football coach. "I think we'll be strong enough to make the state sectionals."

Ciccotelli said that Foti — also a good hockey player for the Raiders during the  winter — has a strong swing.

"He has a chance to be very good," the coach said.

Sophomore Steve Pak and junior Nowell Whitehouse who scored in last year's county meet return with juniors James Leitner and Ryan Laguna and sophomores Luke Emnas and Alan Woodfield. Donovan Garrett and Mark Fusillo are the seniors.

Freshman Steve Pedersen is a player to watch, the coach said. Pedersen has plenty of experience in junior tournament play. He won the junior boys' division at the Bob Lowney Memorial Junior Golf Tournament last August at Richmond Country Club in Staten
Island.

"You can tell he has a lot of experience," Ciccotelli said.