The Mercer County Community College Athletics Department and MCCC Foundation is set to host the 23rd Annual Golf Classic.
The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 30 at Mercer Oaks East, an 18-hole championship course adjacent to Mercer County Park in West Windsor Township. Proceeds from the tournament support the MCCC Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund.
Co-Chairs for the event are Foundation board members David Fraytak and Lori Danko. Committee members include Doug Borden of Borden Perlman Salisbury & Kelly, MCCC president Patricia C. Donohue, Paul Fitzgerald of First Bank, F. Thomas Kull, Erik Larsen of Investors Bank, Nina Melker of Hopewell Valley Community Bank, Scott Needham of Princeton Air Conditioning, Rocky L. Peterson, Esq. of Hill Wallack LLP, and Steve Ritzau.
MCCC Golf Classic is held in memory of Ritzau’s late wife, Dr. Cynthia Shaffer, who served on the MCCC Foundation Board and was an avid supporter of youth sports.
The practice range for tournament participants opens at 10:30 a.m. Registration and lunch begin at 11:30 a.m., with tee-off at 12:30 p.m. The tournament features a shotgun start, scramble format.
Skill prizes include hole-in-one, longest drives for men and women, and closest-to-the-pin on four holes.
The tournament is set to conclude at 5:30 p.m. with an awards reception, silent auction and dinner. Golfers and dinner-only guests will enjoy the premier facilities available in the Mercer Oaks clubhouse and a silent auction featuring guest foursomes at top regional clubs, restaurant packages and more.
Registration is $225 for individual golfers. Tickets for non-golfers are $100.
The cost for a hole sponsorship, including a foursome, is $1,200. Sponsors receive a variety of benefits, including a named scholarship at the College, based on their level of participation.
With its $5,000 contribution, Investors Bank is the featured tournament sponsor. Wells Fargo repeats this year as the Front Nine sponsor at the $2,500 level.
Silent auction items and prize donations are also sought.
According to John Simone, 2013-14 was a banner year for the number of student athletes who earned academic honors, with 25 named to the Region 19 All-Academic Team, 36 to the All-GSAC Academic Team, and two runners who were selected as Academic All-Americans by the NJCAA Cross Country Coaches Association. Also, close to 90 percent of MCCC athletes complete their degrees at Mercer and/or transfer to four-year colleges.
The last academic year was also notable for its athletic successes. A total of 137 students competed on the college’s nine athletic teams. Almost all of Mercer’s teams advanced to post-season tournaments, with the baseball team playing at the NJCAA World Series for the first time since 2002 and two players named as All-Americans, one of whom was drafted by Major League Baseball. The women’s cross country team fielded a full squad at nationals for the first time in the program’s four-year history, and the women’s soccer and softball teams were Region 19 runners-up.
Fifteen students were named to the All-Region 19 Team and 15 were named to the All-Garden State Athletic Conference Team.
More information is online at mccc.edu/golf.
