A David vs. Goliath Golf Match

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Rockland Community College played David to Nassau Community College’s Goliath, using golf balls instead of stones to unseat the Long Island-based powerhouse as Region XV champion, and earning a berth at the national championships in June.                  

The Hawks of sixth-year Coach Tom “T-bone” Craffey—powered by individual titlist Colby Lewis of Monroe-Woodbury HS, and sparked by a brilliant first-round 76 from Dan Gizzi of Stony Point—outdistanced the Nassau side by the margin of four strokes, posting 665 to the defending champion’s 669 at Philip J. Rotella Memorial Golf Course in Haverstraw.                  

Rockland CC, whose student body is one third of the size of Nassau’s 25,000 students at its 225-acre campus in Garden City, now turns its collective attention to the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament June 6-10 at Chautauqua Golf Club in upstate Jamestown, at the Southern tip of Chautauqua Lake.                  

Craffey, who emphasized that Lewis’ performance was on par for the veteran linkster, but that Gizzi’s opening round helped provide the cushion for victory, has no pretensions about winning a national title despite his team’s cohesiveness and talent.                  

“As a team, we’ll probably be spectators [for the title], but I want us to have fun in the 72-hole tourney; gain some valuable experience,” Craffey said. “However, realistically, I think we can finish in the top-10 as a team, get a national ranking, and Colby can win the whole shooting match.”                 

Lewis, who followed his first-round 76 with an equally impressive 77, has the tools, noted T-bone, to become a big-time Division I player in college.            

“He’ll probably wind up going to a Rutgers or St. John’s; some day you could see him in the Masters,” Craffey predicts.                 

Gizzi, who works at Patriots Hills Golf Club in Stony Point, and was led to playing by his dad, Chris, and older brother Joe, surprisingly has never had a golf lesson in his life.                  

“But I love playing,” said Gizzi. “If I could get out every day, I would play any day, in any weather.”                  

Gizzi laughed, in apparent appreciation, when his 76 at the Region XV championships was mentioned.                  

“It was pretty good,” the North Rockland High graduate understated. “It was big for the tournament, gave us an eight-stroke lead. But I fell off a bit (to 96) the second day.”                  

As far as Craffey is concerned, Gizzi’s round was the difference-maker.                   “You know what, you always expect something from Colby, but in the first round we had a hero, Dan Gizzi. He came up big with his best [competitive] round ever. It sustained us, put us over the top.”                  

Craffey was equally as enthralled by the upset of Nassau, a five-time Region XV title holder.                  

“They really shouldn’t be in our division; it was definitely an upset, but we have six guys who can shoot in 60’s and 80’s. It was, in this case, truly a team effort.”      

Behind Lewis’ 76-77—153, and Gizzi’s 76-96—172, which tied for 10th overall, the Hawks were led to victory by team captain and Pomona resident Greg Zamalkany’s 83-88—171 (tied for 8th), Clarkstown South graduate and West Nyack resident John Borean’s 89-88—177 (16th), and Albertus Magnus graduate Terrance Michalak’s 90-88—178 (17th). Andrew Lunau of Monroe rounded out RCC’s contingent, with 90-91—181 (20th).                  

The NJCAA national championship event is the first for Gizzi & Co., and one he is highly anticipating.                  

“It’s a great opportunity, it will be fun, and a good experience,” Gizzi noted, echoing his coach’s outlook. “Can we make the top-10? We can definitely shoot low scores, but we have to do it at the same time. We can’t be up and down. But if we shoot good scores at the same time, we can do it.”                  

Coach Craffey—who notes that Borean and Zamalkany are already sporting “Rally Mohawk” haircuts—was especially high on this year’s team, even before the regional triumph.                  

“Greg is our only returnee from last year, so I appointed him the captain,” Craffey said. “He really acts like a captain, too; he organizes the guys, and he’s not just a figurehead.                  

“The biggest surprise this year, is when I first met the kids, when they met, they all became friends, and came together definitely as a team,” T-bone continued, with obvious delight. “Normally, they might to their separate ways, but these kids hung out together. There’s not an [idiot] in the bunch!”                  

The Hawks will head upstate on June 5, and get in a practice round at the Robert Trent Jones Trail Course at Chautauqua GC before taking on the national opposition.                  

And will Gizzo, for one, be showcasing a “Rally Mohawk” haircut in support of Borean and Zamalkany?                  

“Well, no, at least not at this time. The first time I saw them come out of the car [with the Mohawks], it was pretty funny,” Gizzi said. “But we’ll talk about it; if everyone goes along with it, then I will, too. It would be a shock, that’s for sure.”       

No more shocking, however, than their David-like victory over Goliath.

STAC Golf Returns From Tournament

The St. Thomas Aquinas golf team finished 17th in the NCAA Division II National Championship at Robert Trent Jones Trail in Muscle Shoals, AL. Senior Chris Fitzpatrick of Westwood, MA, had the Spartans’ low score of the tournament with a 73 in his final round. STAC had its best team score of 305 in their final round.

Fitzpatrick had three birdies and four bogeys to shoot 1-over par in round three; finishing tied for 32nd place.  Fitzpatrick, who will be lost to graduation, guided the Spartans to the national tournament for three consecutive seasons, and was among the top-ranked golfers in the East Region. 

Mike Gunderson of Duxbury, MA, also had his best round in the final day shooting 2-over-par 74 and finishing with a three-day score of 235.  Junior John Casey of Garnerville had his low round in day three shooting a 7-over 79.  Casey joined Fitzpatrick as the only Spartan to compete in three consecutive National Championships. 

Freshmen Thomas Linehan of Dansville, and Joe Harney of West Duxbury, MA, who helped lead STAC to the regional title, experienced their first National Championship experience; Linehan shot 79 and Harney carded an 83. 

Mortarboard musings     

• Three Westchester Community College softball standouts were named all-Mid Hudson Conference: Kaitlyn Schmier, P/2B, Mahopac HS; Stephanie Gaudinier, C, Hendrick Hudson; and Fransesca Signore, 3B/SS, Maria Regina.   
• Shortstop John Ziznewski, outfielder Jared Croce, and pitcher/first baseman Jordan Kolinsky of the Rockland Community College baseball team were honored as first-team all-Mid Hudson Conference selections. Ziznewski, a Staten Island native who led the region with a .479 average, also received the conference’s most valuable player award. Third baseman Chris Orlando of Westchester CC was another first-team choice. Kolinsky, now living in West Nyack, is a New City native, and a graduate of Clarkstown South HS.
• The fifth-seeded Dominican College Lady Chargers softball team was eliminated from the NCAA East Regional tournament at Brookhaven, losing 5-2 to the fourth-seeded Owls of Southern Connecticut State University.  Earlier in the day, Dominican eliminated the top-seeded Golden Lions of Dowling College, 1-0.
• College of Mount Saint Vincent senior women’s lacrosse standout Jessie Mitchell of Suffern has been named second-team IWLCA all-Boardwalk Region for the second straight year. Mitchell closed out the 2011 season as the Dolphins’ leader in every major statistical category.     
• Manhattan College men’s basketball coach Steve Masiello of White Plains has announced the hiring of associate head coach Matt Grady, assistant coach Rashon Burno, along with coordinator of basketball operations Matt Wilson.  They join assistant coach Scott Padgett, who will return for his second season at Manhattan.      
• Alex Jones, a senior midfielder on the Dominican College men’s lacrosse team, has been named to the all-East Coast Conference second team. Jones led the Chargers in goals and points for the second straight season. He leaves Dominican as the all-time leader in goals (134) and points (167).     
• Sophomore infielder Amanda Babcock of Haverstraw, an all-section pick at North Rockland HS, batted .229 in 37 games for the Manhattan College softball team. Babcock had six doubles, and eight RBI. Sophomore outfielder Megan Weaver of Congers, who was a team captain at Clarkstown North, saw limited action in 15 games.