Love on the links

Kingsway’s Parrish, Kuminka, dating off the course, medalists in Tri-County Showcase; Williamstown boys, Kingsway girls win team titles

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – The next time Christopher Parrish and Carly Kuminka are in their favorite Italian restaurant together for a night out, they’ll have a little bit more to talk about than how things went at school that day.

The two Kingsway underclassmen won their respective medalist prizes Tuesday in the Tri-County Showcase at Pitman Golf Course. While it’s not the first time either of them have won, it’s the first time they’ve won on the same day since they’ve started dating.

Parrish, a sophomore, posted a 1-over-par 71 to win the boys title by a shot over Gloucester Tech’s Jamie Ciesielka and two over Justin Forman of Washington Twp. Kuminka, a junior, shot 83 and defended her girls title by five shots over two-time Salem/Cumberland girls champion Nicole Tarquinio of Cumberland Regional. 

“It’s cool,” Parris said. “I was watching when we finished and she was like four ahead and I was like, Wow, we could actually both win this. It’s a great way to go into next year.”

“It’s really cool, it’s nice; I’m happy for him,” Kuminka said. “There’s not a lot of tournaments we both play in together.”

The two met through high school golf and have been an item now for about a year. They play “a lot” of golf together, which Carly says is “really fun.” She said Parrish usually gets the better of their competition “because he’s really consistent.”

Pulling off his win brought Parrish a measure of revenge after losing the Gloucester County Tournament here Thursday in a sudden-death playoff to Forman, one of his foursome partners Tuesday and one of the players he was battling with down the stretch.

Five days ago, Parrish and Forman both got around in regulation in 72. Forman was leading by two going to 18, but Parrish birdied and Forman three-putted for bogey to force the playoff. Forman won it when Parrish missed an 18-finch par putt on the second extra hole.

“After getting second Thursday in a playoff, to win today and beat Justin, who I love playing with because we play so close, felt great,” Parrish said. “I really wanted to get back at him today … I wanted to definitely make sure I won today. Shoot a good number and see if I win today.”

Parrish had no such misadventures on the greens this day. In fact, he made three mid-range birdies in a row at 12, 13 and 14 to climb into contention, but perhaps the biggest putt of his round was the one he made on 15 to save par.

“I think it’s only the second time in my life I made three birdies in a row,” he said. “It’s definitely not something I do often. But after I bogey 11, a hole I tripled on Thursday, it was like a win, but (with the holes coming up) if I can just hit greens and I can get my line and hit a good putt I can easily make birdies on these holes. That’s what I did.

“I knew I had to get something going because I was hitting the ball great, I was hitting a lot of greens, so I was like on the back if I could just get the putter going and keep hitting greens, get up and down a few times, I can definitely score pretty well on the back.”

On Tuesday, he ultimately was locked in a three-way battle down the stretch with Forman and Ciesielka, who was playing in the group ahead of him.

Forman was even through 12 holes, but fell back with a double-bogey on the par-3 on 14, the victim of some wicked backspin that brought his tee ball into the par-3 all the way back off the green. He bounced back with a birdie on 15, but bogeyed two of his last three holes.

Ciesielka was 2-under through his first seven holes and held a one-shot lead after No. 16, bur he bogeyed 17 and 18 and needed to make a 30-foot birdie on No. 1 to force a playoff. He finished second for the second year in a row. Forman finished third.

“I’m bummed I didn’t shoot where I thought I would, but all in all it’s a better score than Thursday (81 in the Gloucester County Tournament here); it’s really what I wanted,” Ciesielka said.
Pennsville’s Jacob Isaac posted the low round from a Salem County golfer. He posted a 10-over 80 on his first trip seeing the course that tied for sixth. His round featured a chip-in birdie on No. 17 and “six or seven” one-putts that kept him in the game.

Salem/Cumberland runner-up Jeffrey Covely of Woodstown also had a top 10 (T-9) with an 84 highlighted by birdies on 7 and 13.

Williamstown’s boys and the Kingsway girls (Kuminka and Ava Volpe) won the team titles.  The Braves counted fourth-place Cole Gaetens’ 77 and three 84s. Woodstown finished third in the boys race, six shots ahead of fourth-place Schalick.

TRI-COUNTY SHOWCASE
At Pitman Golf Course

BOYS TEAM	SCORE	GIRLS TEAM	SCORE
Williamstown	329	Kingsway	180
Triton	351	Clearview	184
Woodstown	364	Washington Twp.	193
Schalick	370	Cumberland	206
Gloucester Cath.	391	Schalick	224
Pitman	411	GCIT	224
		Williamstown	225
		Delsea	255
		Wildwood	273