Mount St. Joseph girls' golf team aims for title

In 2009, the Mount St. Joseph girls' golf team was the state-tournament runner-up. So when Andrew Marr arrived at the Mount as head coach this season, he knew he was inheriting a lot of talent.

In the wake of last season's loss, the team, independent of its coach, set the goal, naturally, to win it all in 2010.

Two weeks ago, the Mount took a step in that direction by qualifying for the District 1 championships, and sent eight of its golfers to the individual district championships, scheduled for Oct. 12.

Only 14 golfers are on the Mount roster, and only 15 players qualify for the individual tournament.

This year, though the team is capable on its own, it might be Marr who provides the final push toward the coveted state title. Marr, a 30-year-old native of Scotland, where the modern game was born, moved to the United States just five years ago. In addition to coaching the Mount, in the spring he heads Baldwin's golf team in the Inter-Ac League and is a full-time private instructor at GolfTEC in Rosemont.

Given the depth of talent at the Mount, Marr recognizes his role in possibly winning a state championship.

"My job is to piece the puzzle together and fill in the gaps," Marr said, adding that he believes a solid approach game and putting will be deciding factors in the Mount's season.

As a teenager, Marr was a top-flight junior amateur in the United Kingdom. In 2004, he coached the varsity team at University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England. Before moving to the Philadelphia area, Marr spent several summers here working at the Julian Krinsky golf camp.

At the Mount, Marr recognizes a certain focus in his players, something he believes drives the team internally.

Samantha Arena, a senior and Marr's No. 1 golfer, said she likes to do things her own way on the course.

"If I need advice, he's always there to give it to me," said Arena, who first picked up a plastic club when she was two years old. "But I try and figure things out on my own because that's what I need to do out on the course."

"The girls I have on the Mount team have wonderful attitudes and wonderful wills and thirst to be successful," Marr said.

Volleyball. The Bishop Shanahan girls' volleyball team hadn't lost a Ches-Mont League match since 2008. But Tuesday, the Eagles fell to Unionville, 3-1, dropping into a tie for third place in the league with a 4-1 record.

Unionville (5-0) has won two straight matches against top Ches-Mont squads, having downed Avon Grove (4-1) four days prior. The win over Shanahan was Unionville's first since 2004.

"During the first set, Shanahan took advantage of our blocking scheme," Unionville coach Rob Conti-D'Antonio said in an e-mail. "We had trouble defending their big hitters. Once we made some adjustments, our girls gained confidence, relaxed, and began to defend better."

Shanahan coach Greg Ashman, who led the school to the Class AAAA state championship last season, said the Eagles had trouble passing the ball against Unionville.

"When we pass the ball, we can play with anyone," Ashman said.

Water polo. Starting Friday, Eastern Pennsylvania will host what organizers call the biggest scholastic water polo tournament in the United States outside of California.

The Beast of the East tournament, which includes both boys' and girls' competition, will include 53 teams that will compete two days, through Saturday evening. The tournament, organized by Rudy Ruth, superintendent in the Wilson School District in West Lawn, has been running since 1990.

Matches will take place at eight locations, including Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square. Damon Newman, in his first year as Episcopal coach and also the Villanova women's coach, said that the tournament serves as a big recruiting tool for colleges and that he has scouted the event as Villanova coach.

Area schools competing in the Beast of the East include Episcopal, Penn Charter, North Penn, Souderton, Perkiomen Valley, Haverford School, Malvern Prep, La Salle, Wissahickon and Pottstown.

The Wilson boys and girls are defending champions.