Golfers Pack Their Clubs and Head South

• The 'College Sports Notebook' is published each Friday. Please send items of interest—including local athletes competing at out-of-town colleges—to marcmaturo@aol.com.

Instead of coming from Alabama with a banjo on their knees, elated members of the golf team at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill will soon be headed to the Yellowhammer state with a bagful of clubs on their backs to compete at the NCAA Division II national championships for a third straight season.

The precise, powerful Spartans of fifth-year coach Steve Ferrara of Stony Point completed their advance by steamrolling an elite 20-team field at the East/Atlantic Super Regionals at The Hershey Links in Hershey, PA.

Senior Chris Fitzpatrick, a left-hander from Westwood, MA, placed in a tie for second among 108 players by shooting 3-under-par for the tournament with rounds of 68, 72 and 73.

Teammate Joe Harney of West Roxbury, MA--among the nation’s top long-ball hitters along with Fitzpatrick and another teammate, John Casey of Garnerville—finished sixth with 1-over on rounds of 68, 76 and 73.

Overall, STAC totaled 871 and outdistanced runner-up Indiana University of Pennsylvania by a lopsided 10 strokes. Indiana was one of three top teams in the field representing the Atlantic Region; the others were Concordia, fourth with 892, and Clarion, sixth with 897.

Completing the top 10 were Wilmington, third, 890; American International, fifth, 896; Charleston, seventh, 897; Post, eighth, 911; West Chester, ninth, 913; and California of Pennsylvania, 10th, 921.

Concordia of Bronxville placed 19th with 953.

“The players are all very good; we practice five-six days a week at Rotella, Patriot Hills, and occasionally Rockland Country Club,” Coach Ferrara said. “This is the third year in a row that we qualified (for nationals), and that’s a big deal. The last two years we didn’t do well there, but at that point you’re facing the top players in the country, top recruits, where they play year-round. For us, we’re limited to a number of months.”

Ferrara—who only came to play the game after he turned 20, learning the subtleties while working at Minisceongo in Pomana—was especially pleased with the Spartans’ showing in Hershey.

“No one would have thought we would have run away with it [the title],” Ferrara noted. “We took an eight-shot lead after the first round, led by 10 shots after the second round, and maintained it. I was very impressed, very proud; it was just a good tournament for us.”

At the national event scheduled May 16-20 in Alabama, STAC returns to Robert Trent Jones Trail in Muscle Shoals, site of the Division II National Championship Preview before the season.

“As the defending champ we were invited, and we played the course. That’s a little help, definitely,” Ferrara, a SUNY New Paltz graduate, said.

The following are Ferrara’s synopsis of each of his championship players:

Chris Fitzpatrick, Sr., Westwood, MA: “He’s been a crutch for us the last four years, a rock. He’s consistent; has averaged no more than 2-over-par. He’s spectacular.”

Joe Harney, Fr., West Roxbury, MA: “A solid ball striker, long as well. He, Chris and John [Casey] are as long as anyone in the nation—and he has a touch around the greens. He makes birdies, and that is a key.”

Mike Gunderson, Jr., Duxbury, MA: “He’s consistent, shows a lot of resiliency. He was 4-over after nine [holes] in the final, but closed with five birdies, 5-under, to finish 1-under. As a coach, that’s what you like to see; remain positive after a bad shot, a bad play.”

John Casey, Jr., Garnerville, North Rockland grad: “We call him ‘Long Ball,’ that’s what we call him. He hits 330 (yards) off the tee, no problem, like a (pro) Bubba Watson.” And just like Watson, and teammate Fitzpatrick, Casey swings left-handed.

Tom Linehan, Fr., Dansville: “He’s been solid all year. His worst round happened to be his last round. But he went 72-73 in his first two rounds, as a freshman!”

Play ball!

Competition in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XV baseball tournament opens today (May 6) with play-in games at No. 3 Orange (vs. No. 6 Ulster, 3:30 p.m.) and No. 4 Rockland CC (vs. No. 5 Dutchess, 4 p.m.).

Double-elimination play begins on Saturday at RCC. 

Saturday’s schedule:

10 a.m., Game 1: No. 2 Westchester CC vs. 3/6 winner; 1 p.m., Game 2: No. 1 Sullivan vs. 4/5 winner; 4 p.m., Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (loser of this game eliminated)

Sunday

10 a.m., Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2; 1 p.m., Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)

Monday 

4 p.m., Game 6:  Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (championship); 7 p.m., Game 7: If necessary.

Finish line

St. Thomas Aquinas College closed its outdoor track and field season with meets at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, and Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

In New Jersey, junior Chelsea Klinger of Owego turned in a personal-best 5:07.69 in the 1,500-meter run, placing 31st overall, while Pearl River grad Keeley Bateman, a freshman, ran 2:23.46 in the 800, good for 11th overall.

Freshman Caroline Bjorkman of Goshen ran a personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.38.

On the men’s side, freshman George Erazo of North Babylon finished second overall in the 400-meter dash at Yale, timing 49.24, and also placed 15th in the 200, running a PB of 22.80.

Garvenchy Nicolas of Brooklyn, a freshman, turned in his best time ever in the 800 with a 1:59.60 clocking, which placed him 23rd overall.

“It was a great season, with a very young team,” said Coach Lou Maturo of Tappan. “I think next year we’re going to be very dangerous. We had countless Regional rankings, so obviously we’re doing something right. We recruited a lot of women, signed five or six already, so the women’s team will be a lot bigger and faster, and the men’s team will be even better next year.”

Suddenly, it’s over

Sophomore pitcher Maura Power of Pearl River finished her sophomore season on the St. Thomas Aquinas College softball team with a 10-10 mark, and 81 strikeouts.

The Albertus Magnus grad also supplied 19 hits for the Lady Spartans, who went 15-24 overall including a 10-17 mark in the East Coast Conference.

Senior Joy Ferriello of Nanuet had 20 hits and 14 RBI, while senior Alyssa Cataldo of Suffern led the team with seven doubles among her 19 hits.

STAC was powered by Hendrick Hudson graduate Heather Clausen, who batted .328 with 39 hits and 16 RBI.

The team leader with 18 RBI, and eight home runs, was Megan Sweezy of East Islip.

Stellar Shea; Marvelous Mitchell

College of Mount Saint Vincent lacrosse standouts Mike Shea of Congers and Jessie Mitchell of Suffern were honored by the Skyline Conference for their respective performances on the men’s and women’s teams for the Dolphins

Mitchell, who finished the season as the team leader in every major statistical category, was named to the all-Skyline Conference first team, while Shea, who will graduate as the program leader with 100 goals and 144 points, was named second team all-Skyline Conference for the second time in his career.

This season Shea led the Riverdale-based Dolphins in goals (48), assists (14), and points (62). The senior attack set the single season record for goals and points, and also set the seven-year-old program’s single game record for points (10) and goals (8) in a 21-9 win over Mitchell.

Mitchell this season posted team-highs in goals (53), assists (19) and points (72) as a senior. Her mark for goals matched the single-season record at Mount Saint Vincent, and her 72 points are the new standard for a single season. She will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in draw controls with 236, and second in groundballs with 190.

Chargers move up

The Dominican College baseball team, 24-15 on the season, moved up one spot to ninth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region after going 4-1 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contests.

The Chargers, who lost to St. Thomas Aquinas College, had doubleheader sweeps over Caldwell College and Wilmington University, which was top-ranked in the NCAA East Region.

Mortarboard musings

• Southpaw Chris O’Grady of Congers, a Clarkstown North graduate, is 3-3 with a 6.31 ERA for the George Mason University baseball team. The sophomore, however, has a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio for the Patriots, who are home today, Saturday and Sunday against Northeastern. Older brother T.J. O’Grady, a senior right-hander whose career has been hampered by injuries, is 2-3 with a 6.11 ERA.
• The Pittsburgh University baseball team heads to Queens over the weekend for games against St. John’s tonight (6 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.), and Sunday (noon). Former Clarkstown South star pitcher Corey Baker of New City is expected to be in action for the Panthers. The senior right-hander is 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA for the Panthers, but has shown some wildness with 28 walks as against 39 strikeouts this season.
• Sophomore Sarah Dugandzic of Suffern helped the Dominican College women’s 4x100-meter relay team place 10th at the Yale Springtime Invitational. Dugandzic, who placed 45th in the 1,500 with a time of 5:45.16, was joined on the relay team by freshman Jessica Avila of Mount Vernon, junior Samantha Klunk of York, PA, and sophomore Keyla Cruz of the Bronx. They combined for a clocking of 4:33.01.
• Sophomores Julie Plante of Swansea, MA, Ashley Corrao of Staten Island, and Delaney Childers of Johnstown, OH, were named all-CACC first team for the Dominican College softball team.
• Manhattanville College freshman starting pitcher Alex Basso of Putnam Valley was named Freedom Conference Baseball Rookie of the Year. Teammate Dan Fiorito of Yonkers also earned first-team honors.
• Freshman right-hander Scott McClennan of Suffern pitched seven scoreless innings as the Manhattan College baseball team continued unbeaten at Van Cortlandt Park this season with an 8-0 victory over cross-Bronx rival Fordham. McClennan (2-1) was touched for five hits while walking only one and striking out two for the Jaspers. Manhattan (24-15) visits Niagara over the weekend, with a doubleheader scheduled at noon on Saturday.
• Manhattan College junior Elizabeth Dugan of Stony Point was named to the women’s lacrosse all-MAAC second team. Dugan, a graduate of North Rockland HS, scored 11 goals with one assist as an offensive-minded defender in 14 games for the Jaspers. She also had 38 groundballs, 23 draw controls, and caused 13 turnovers.
• Women’s lacrosse standouts Jessi and Ali Steinberg of Suffern were honored by the Ivy League and Big East, respectively. Jessi, a junior attack at Cornell, was a unanimous choice to the all-Ivy League first team. She led the Big Red with 38 goals. Ali, a junior midfielder at Rutgers, was named to the all-Big East second team. She was second on the team with 28 goals, with a career-best seven assists.
• The STAC baseball team--hampered by injuries to its top two pitchers, enduring an extremely rare seven-game skid--is a game under .500 at 21-22-1. The Spartans open a weekend series against C.W. Post at 4 p.m. today at Dutchess County Stadium in Wappingers Falls. The teams meet again on Saturday at 11 a.m., back at Dutchess Stadium, and then meet for a third time on Sunday at 1 p.m., this one at C.W. Post.