Internal competition sharpens Marriotts Ridge golf

Forget scoring records and historic winning streaks.

While there may be a bit of both this fall for the Marriotts Ridge golf program, the discussions amongst the team so far this August have been far simpler.

“Oh, it’s girls against the guys every day … practice or matches it doesn’t matter,” said senior Alana Alexander-Giles. “We want to beat them, and they want to beat us. I love it. It’s all fun, but we definitely talk back and forth.”

That internal competition paid immediate dividends for both squads in the season-opening match against Mount Hebron at Waverly Woods on Wednesday.

The Mustangs’ boys team extended their county-record win streak, which dates back to 2013, to 84 straight victories with a 91-56 triumph. The duo of senior Sangmin Lee and sophomore George Williamson tied for top honors in the win with 25 points (2-over par) apiece under Howard County’s Modified Stableford scoring system.

While the girls fell just short of their male counterparts on the overall scoreboard, they were equally as impressive in their season debut. Led by a match-high 26 points (one-over) from Alexander-Giles, Marriotts Ridge tied a county nine-hole team scoring record in its 86-9 win.

The all-around team effort — which also included strong rounds from Lila Becker (22 points), Erin Jeung (20) and Charlene Pak (18) — ties the all-time mark previously shared by Atholton’s 2013 team and the Marriotts Ridge girls squad from last fall.

Marriotts Ridge coach Mark Dubbs said he enjoys watching the two groups push one another on a daily basis, as it makes them battle-tested before the real matches even start.

“We honestly don’t talk about streaks at all, and we really never have. If anything, the only pressure is on trying to see how many kids we can qualify for the county tournament or between the kids who are trying to beat one another for bragging rights,” Dubbs said. “We set it up where every day is a competitive environment and that has proven to prepare them well.”

Alexander-Giles, coming off a junior year where she won the Howard County championship individual title, produced plenty of fireworks on Wednesday. She eagled the par 5 second hole and birdied the par 5 eighth to highlight her round.

“I have the length with my driver where, if I can hit it well, it puts me in position to make birdies … or an eagle like today. It’s just a matter of whether I can keep it in or near the fairway,” Alexander-Giles said.

The eagle was the second ever in a high school match for Alexander-Giles.

Becker’s round included five pars, while Jeong birdied the sixth hole to complete a nice bounce-back from an opening triple bogey.

For the boys, Lee was steady throughout with seven pars and two bogeys. Williamson, meanwhile, had more of a rollercoaster round on his way to a similar finish — making two birdies and four bogeys.

Zach Vernick (22 points), who rattled off five straight pars in the middle of his round, and Navneet Kunadi (19) rounded out the scoring for Marriotts Ridge.

Mount Hebron’s boys were led by 18 points from Trey Kinberg, who made a pair of birdies.

Marriotts Ridge is back in action next Wednesday against Reservoir at Waverly Woods, while Mount Hebron will square off the same day against Long Reach at the Timbers at Troy.

Marriotts Ridge 91, Mount Hebron 56 (boys)

MR (1-0): Sangmin Lee 25, George Williamson 25, Zach Vernick 22, Navneet Kunadi 19.

MH (0-1): Trey Kinberg 18, Lucas Edwards 16, Chris Bone 11, Beckett France-Kelly 11.

Marriotts Ridge 86, Mount Hebron 9 (girls)

MR (1-0): Alana Alexander Giles 26, Lila Becker 22, Erin Jeong 20, Charlene Pak 18.

MH (0-1): Julia Morton 9.

Other Howard County Boys Golf Scores:

River Hill 88, Oakland Mills 7 (Fairway Hills)

It was quite the varsity debut for a pair of Hawks, as freshman Justin Choi and sophomore Keagan Graves led the way to the win. Choi’s round of 25 points was highlighted by a birdie on the fourth hole, while Graves fired 24 points and made birdies on the first and fifth holes.

RH (1-0): Justin Choi 25, Keagan Graves 24, Mark Berg 20, Cole Spies 19.

OM (0-1): Owen Anderson 7.

Howard 81, Wilde Lake 48 (Timbers at Troy)

The Lions had three players — Ronan Menon (22 points), Krish Patel (21) and Dev Sheth (20) — all score 20 or more points in the win. Patel’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the third hole.

Henry Hilger paced Wilde Lake with 18 points, while Antonio Hardy shot 14 and made a birdie on the par 5 second hole.

Ho (1-0): Ronan Menon 22, Krish Patel 21, Dev Sheth 20, Sean Dawes 18.

WL (0-1): Henry Hilger 18, Antonio Hardy 14, Adam Parker 8, Tyler Mooneyhan 8.

Long Reach 64, Glenelg 59 (Willow Springs)

Jake Filler tied a career-best with 22 points and the Lightning posted a higher team total than any score from last fall on the way to defeating the Gladiators.

LR (1-0): Jake Filler 22, Ethan Ahn 16, Elliott Austran 15, Calvin Vaughn 11.

G (0-1): Ellis Waak 18, Ryan Glassman 17, Issa Mansour 13, Tyler Carl 11.

Atholton 56, Hammond 13 (Hobbit’s Glen)

A (1-0): Andy Christiansen 19, West Peterson 15, Ivan Cho 12, Dylan Giuliano 10.

Ha (0-1): Mason Walls 9, Sean Meklir 3, Cooper Smith 1.

Other Howard County Girls Golf Scores:

River Hill 51, Oakland Mills 30 (Fairway Hills)

RH (1-0): Sydney Lynott 17, Lauren Shin 14, Simran Mulchandani 10, Gina Dhaliwal 10.

OM (0-1): Chloe Koh 19, Kylee Hoffman 11.

Wilde Lake 32, Howard 12 (Timbers at Troy)

Junior Laurel Sands led the way for the Wildecats with a career-best round of 19 points.

Howard, which is fielding a girls team for the first time since 2019, was led by five points each from Ashley Bui and Andie Chung.

WL (1-0): Laurel Sands 19, Lindsey Sands 13.

Ho (0-1): Ashley Bui 5, Andie Chung 5, Sydney Boris 2.

Glenelg 66, Long Reach 28 (Willow Springs)

The Gladiators got a balanced effort in the win that included three players — Samadhi Tennakoon, Amber Kostick and Norah Vanderpool — with 15 or more points.

Long Reach’s Emma Koech led all scorers with a match-high 21 points.

G (1-0): Samadhi Tennakoon 18, Amber Kostick 16, Norah Vanderpool 15, Emme Glassman 7.

LR (0-1): Emma Koech 21, Grace Simpson 7.

Atholton 51, Hammond 5 (Hobbit’s Glen)

Cate Lee set a career best with 24 points to help the Raiders start the season with a victory.

A (1-0): Cate Lee 24, Keira Wilkie 15, Clara Kadingo 7, Kavya Shah 5.

Ha (0-1): Mikaela Meer 4, Abigail Albertorio 1.