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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Fighting Through Inconsistent Swing, Hun's Morales 2nd in Prep Girls' Golf
By Bill Alden
Ica Morales knew something was not quite right as she warmed up last Wednesday for the NJISAA Prep Girls' Golf Championship at Peddie.
"While I was practicing on the driving range, I knew I didn't have my swing," said Morales, a Hun School senior who won last year's Prep girls' title. "I knew I would have to fight to get a good score."
Morales got her round off to a rough start with some bogeys but then got back into contention with a birdie on the fifth hole. Fighting her swing, Morales went for broke on the ninth and final hole but ended with a bogey to shoot a 43 and lose the title by one stroke to Liz Batchelor of the Pennington School.
In assessing her performance, Morales acknowledged that she felt some nerves in her bid to repeat her title. "I made a mental error on the ninth, I gambled and went for the flag," recalled Morales.
"In golf, you have to keep your mind on each shot. You have to know when you can't be overly aggressive. It is a lot harder to defend when everybody's eyes are on you. It is easier when you are the underdog."
Seeking to reinforce that lesson of focusing on each shot, Morales carried her second-place medal with her a day later as she competed for Hun in the state Prep A team championship. "I carried it around in my left pocket," recalled Morales. "I rubbed it and I thought I need to keep my head on every shot."
Morales accomplished that goal as she carded a 42 on the front nine and then fired a 39 on the back nine to end up with an 81. The Raiders ended up shooting a 317 to finish one stroke behind champion Peddie in the team standings. Zach LaPalme fired a 77 and Tom Stoddard shot a 78 to lead Hun.
"It was a better showing for me, I putted better," said Morales, who is the only girl on the Hun team. "It was good to come back from Wednesday like that."
Morales said that playing while being the only girl on the Hun squad has been a good experience for her. "Playing with the guys has been so much fun," said Morales, who spent her winters at Hun playing for the girls' basketball team.
"I don't see it as a matter of showing them up. I just wanted to play golf and have fun. They joke with me and they support me. It loosens me up on the course."
Morales believes she is heading to a similarly supportive atmosphere this fall when she heads to Bucknell University.
"It's sad to say goodbye but it's exciting to know that I have the chance to play golf at the next level," said Morales, whose career goal is to become a college basketball coach.
"The people at Bucknell are so friendly, I feel like I really fit in. I've spoken to the some of the girls on the golf team and I feel I have a good chance of playing with them. I'm also going to talk to the basketball coaches to see how they got their start. I'll be a team manager or break down films, whatever I need to do to get started."
As Morales pursues the opportunities afforded at Bucknell, she will apply one of the key lessons of her Hun experience.
"The big thing I learned in high school is how to face adversity," asserted Morales. "When something bad happens in sports, you need to suck it up, take a deep breath and keep playing. If you do poorly on a test or in a class, you can't give up."
The persistence that Morales showed in rebounding from the disappointment of last Wednesday bodes well for her future endeavors in sports and academics.
