St. Rose girls’ golf program enjoying growth spurt in recent years
May 2, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.
One of the fastest growing sports at St. Rose High School, Belmar, might come as a surprise to people.
When coach Scott Law took over the girls golf program eight years ago, he had five players who could swing a club.
This year the total is 46 and Law had to hold varsity tryouts for the first time. Those who didn’t make it have an opportunity to play for the JV team, which was installed two years ago under the direction of Jay Gilligan.
The program has full support from principal Robert Dougherty and athletic director Julia Barnes.
Surrounded by coach Scott Law and her parents, St. Rose senior Tatiana Konczyk officially becomes the school's first female golfer to attend college to play the sport. Konczyk will attend Hamilton College in Clinton, NY next fall. Photo courtesy St. Rose High School. “I think we have 170 girls in the school and Mr. Dougherty said, ‘If you have 46 girls signing up, we’re gonna blow this up and do what we have to do,’” Law said. “My JV squad meets twice a week, and they learn the basics. When I need players, I go to Jay and say, ‘Who’s your best?’ He’ll tell me to come down and watch a certain person. That’s how I got Lauren Sherrier.”
Sherrier is a freshman who never played before this year but has competed in three tournaments and two dual matches since being called up.
“She didn’t think she was good enough to try out but now I’m relying on her 100 percent,” Law said. “She’s so into this game, her mom hasn’t seen her this excited in, she doesn’t know how long.
“She has virtually come out of nowhere. She shot 55 for nine holes in one tournament and 58 in another. She actually scored an eagle on a par 5. I needed someone and she’s been a surprise.”
The two constants have been sophomore Cecilia Esquieres and senior Tatiana Konczyk.
Esquieres leads the team with a 42.6 average and carded an 84 to place ninth in the Shore Conference Tournament. She’s a veteran player who struggled somewhat last year getting used to hitting off longer tees and struggling with distance on her drives. With that in mind, she worked incessantly on her short game and became deadly from 25 yards in. This year, she has gone from driving the ball 160 yards to 190.
“I knew once her drive picked up in length we would have a really solid player, and I think there’s even more in the tank for her off the tee,” Law said. “You couple that with her great up-and-down skills and her game is just so sound.”
Off course, Esquieres is equally focused. She was her middle school’s valedictorian and as a classical pianist has played multiple times at Carnegie Hall while also performing in Austria last summer.
“She’s just amazing,” Law said. “She’s the most adorable thing you’d ever want to see on the golf course. She’s not real big, but she has the biggest smile, biggest heart and she’s got the focus of a warrior.”
Sophomore Cecelia Esquieres has increased her distance off the tee and, coupled with a strong short game, is the Purple Roses lowest scorer this season. Courtesy photo Konczyk averages 45.7 and took 12th in the SCT with a 90. She will be the first player in program history to play college golf when she attends Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, next year.
“She’s our most improved player since her freshman year, which was only her second year of playing golf,” Law said. “Her handicap was 26, now it’s a five. She works 12 months a year on a daily basis.”
The coach is impressed by her demeanor on the course, noting that she never seems frazzled or upset. She tells her mom she goes out to play golf to clear her head before doing homework.
“Most people don’t find golf head clearing,” Law said with a laugh. “But for her the golf course is truly her happy place. She told me she uses her ‘alone time’ on a golf course for her spiritual thoughts. I think that’s kind of special.”
The dynamic duo of Esquieres and Konczyk helped St. Rose to a 6-3-1 record through Apr. 30. Two losses were by a combined 15 strokes to Monmouth County Tournament Champion Trinity Hall, Tinton Falls. St. Rose finished fourth in the MCT and fifth in the SCT, slicing 20 strokes off last year’s team score.
Other contributors have been juniors Ava Abrahamson, Madison Mastrorilli and Helena Vermuelen, and seniors Carolyn Comforti and Emily Killeen.
Law said most of the girls in the program are faith-driven as either members of Catholic Athletes for Christ or the Hope Squad, which brings attention to juvenile suicide.
He noted that on the course more girls worked on their games in the off-season than ever before.
“When I first took over, I used to joke that if I put a banana in their golf bag on the last day of practice in May, it would still be there in March,” Law said. “That’s not the case anymore. We’re really growing things, which is awesome.”
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One of the fastest growing sports at St. Rose High School, Belmar, might come as a surprise to people.
When coach Scott Law took over the girls golf program eight years ago, he had five players who could swing a club.
This year the total is 46 and Law had to hold varsity tryouts for the first time. Those who didn’t make it have an opportunity to play for the JV team, which was installed two years ago under the direction of Jay Gilligan.
The program has full support from principal Robert Dougherty and athletic director Julia Barnes.
Surrounded by coach Scott Law and her parents, St. Rose senior Tatiana Konczyk officially becomes the school's first female golfer to attend college to play the sport. Konczyk will attend Hamilton College in Clinton, NY next fall. Photo courtesy St. Rose High School. “I think we have 170 girls in the school and Mr. Dougherty said, ‘If you have 46 girls signing up, we’re gonna blow this up and do what we have to do,’” Law said. “My JV squad meets twice a week, and they learn the basics. When I need players, I go to Jay and say, ‘Who’s your best?’ He’ll tell me to come down and watch a certain person. That’s how I got Lauren Sherrier.”
Sherrier is a freshman who never played before this year but has competed in three tournaments and two dual matches since being called up.
“She didn’t think she was good enough to try out but now I’m relying on her 100 percent,” Law said. “She’s so into this game, her mom hasn’t seen her this excited in, she doesn’t know how long.
“She has virtually come out of nowhere. She shot 55 for nine holes in one tournament and 58 in another. She actually scored an eagle on a par 5. I needed someone and she’s been a surprise.”
The two constants have been sophomore Cecilia Esquieres and senior Tatiana Konczyk.
Esquieres leads the team with a 42.6 average and carded an 84 to place ninth in the Shore Conference Tournament. She’s a veteran player who struggled somewhat last year getting used to hitting off longer tees and struggling with distance on her drives. With that in mind, she worked incessantly on her short game and became deadly from 25 yards in. This year, she has gone from driving the ball 160 yards to 190.
“I knew once her drive picked up in length we would have a really solid player, and I think there’s even more in the tank for her off the tee,” Law said. “You couple that with her great up-and-down skills and her game is just so sound.”
Off course, Esquieres is equally focused. She was her middle school’s valedictorian and as a classical pianist has played multiple times at Carnegie Hall while also performing in Austria last summer.
“She’s just amazing,” Law said. “She’s the most adorable thing you’d ever want to see on the golf course. She’s not real big, but she has the biggest smile, biggest heart and she’s got the focus of a warrior.”
Sophomore Cecelia Esquieres has increased her distance off the tee and, coupled with a strong short game, is the Purple Roses lowest scorer this season. Courtesy photo Konczyk averages 45.7 and took 12th in the SCT with a 90. She will be the first player in program history to play college golf when she attends Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, next year.
“She’s our most improved player since her freshman year, which was only her second year of playing golf,” Law said. “Her handicap was 26, now it’s a five. She works 12 months a year on a daily basis.”
The coach is impressed by her demeanor on the course, noting that she never seems frazzled or upset. She tells her mom she goes out to play golf to clear her head before doing homework.
“Most people don’t find golf head clearing,” Law said with a laugh. “But for her the golf course is truly her happy place. She told me she uses her ‘alone time’ on a golf course for her spiritual thoughts. I think that’s kind of special.”
The dynamic duo of Esquieres and Konczyk helped St. Rose to a 6-3-1 record through Apr. 30. Two losses were by a combined 15 strokes to Monmouth County Tournament Champion Trinity Hall, Tinton Falls. St. Rose finished fourth in the MCT and fifth in the SCT, slicing 20 strokes off last year’s team score.
Other contributors have been juniors Ava Abrahamson, Madison Mastrorilli and Helena Vermuelen, and seniors Carolyn Comforti and Emily Killeen.
Law said most of the girls in the program are faith-driven as either members of Catholic Athletes for Christ or the Hope Squad, which brings attention to juvenile suicide.
He noted that on the course more girls worked on their games in the off-season than ever before.
“When I first took over, I used to joke that if I put a banana in their golf bag on the last day of practice in May, it would still be there in March,” Law said. “That’s not the case anymore. We’re really growing things, which is awesome.”
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.