As spring has arrived so has the 2023 golf season. Both the boys and girls teams have enjoyed success in the opening week. The girls team currently has a 1-1 record, including a close victory over West Morris. While the boys team dominated in their season opener against Mt. Olive, currently sitting at 1-0.

The boys golf team is coming off of a stellar 13-1 season and a state sectional title in 2022. But don’t expect a sophomore slump, as many of the team’s top players are returning this season. Standouts such as Devan Patel, Alex Patel, Eric Selquist, and Nathan Tallinder played lights out last year and hope to carry that play into 2023. After a week, one victory the Dodgers look ahead to is Mountain Lakes, a team which the Dodgers have beaten in each of their last three meetings. When asked what the most anticipated match was, Devan Patel said that Hanover Park will always be the most exciting matchup. However it’s not much of a rivalry as Madison dominated the hornets 154-203 in their match last year. 

Devan is a senior and has committed to play golf at Washington and Lee University. Devan chose the school due to its “great academics” and “strong golf program”. Devan’s brother Alex is also a talented golfer. Last year, as a freshman, Alex never shot over a 40 through eleven games. Alex has extended that streak to 12 games as he shot a 38 in Madison’s victory over Mt. Olive in this season’s opener. Nathan Tallinder and Eric Selquist are another major part of the team’s success. Nathan and Eric consistently shoot low 40s to mid 30s and are an integral part of Madison’s starting roster.

The girls golf team is one of the newest programs in MHS athletics, with only ten seasons under their belt. However, don’t let that fool you, they’re still a very talented and experienced team. The girls team went 5-4 last season and hope to build on that success in 2023. Seniors Emma Peifly, Sophia Fee and Hope Reilly are expected to lead the team this year. All three seniors have been golfing since they were young and played on the team since their freshman year. Sophia and Emma are the team’s standout golfers averaging a 55 and 50 respectively. Hope is also a consistent golfer and solid addition to the squad. Team chemistry is very high, especially because all three of the seniors have been golfing together for the past four years. Madison may be a senior heavy team, but there are many promising young golfers such as Charlotte Forrester (Fr), Elizabeth Green (Fr), and Caitlyn Piotrowski (So) who all contributed to Madison’s season opener win against West Morris. With a close knit and talented team, the MHS girls golf team will be a force to be reckoned with in 2023.