Davis, Lees help Philly juniors win Pritsch Cup for the first time

   Two of the Inter-Ac League’s top players, Malvern Prep sophomore Matthew Davis and Agnes Irwin sophomore Kaitlyn Lees, helped the Philadelphia Section PGA outlast the New Jersey Section PGA to capture the Jon M. Pritsch Cup for the first time Friday at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   The Ryder Cup-style event had foursomes playing simultaneous singles and four-ball matches. As the reigning champion, New Jersey needed only nine points and a tie to retain the Pritsch Cup. But the Philly juniors piled up 11 points to finally halt New Jersey’s eight-year stranglehold on the Pritsch Cup.

Davis, a member at Aronimink Golf Club, teamed with Ron Robinson Jr. of Hatfield for a 4 and 3 four-ball win over Dean Cerimido and Johnny Bush with Davis also earning a point with a 1-up victory over Bush in their singles match.

   Erik Reisner, the two-time Central League champion at Harriton, teamed with William Mitchell of Moorestown, N.J. to get a half against Alex Aulerich and Ryan Fitzsimmons with Reisner claiming a 2 and 1 singles win over Fitzsimmons.

   Philly also got a four-ball wins from the pairs of Joshua Madarang of Chester Springs and David Herbst of Mechanicsburg and J.T. Spina of Schwenksville and Andrew Gallagher of Mount Laurel, N.J.

   Lees, a member at Philadelphia Country Club, teamed with Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken and they fell, 4 and 3, to the New Jersey pair of Sayaka Carpenter and Ami Gianchandani. Lees managed to halve her singles match with Carpenter.

   In addition to Davis and Reisner, the other singles winners for the Philly juniors were Robinson, Spina, Madarang and Gallagher. Herbst and Mitchell battled to the 18^th hole and earned halves.

   The event is played in memory of Jon M. Pritsch, a talented 17-year-old golfer who died of heart disease in 1991. He dreamed of playing professional golf. His parents started this event with the intention of creating a scholarship fund that would benefit junior golfers who are considering pursuing a career in  professional golf. The fund has given out more than $140,000 in scholarships and scholarship applications are sent out to each of the Jon M. Pritsch Cup participants.