Scholastic Roundup: The dry spell is over for Brooklyn College volleyball

November 19, 2021 Andy Furman

Ezri Shor in action for the Brooklyn College women’s volleyball team. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn College Athletics

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It took 39 years, but the Brooklyn College women’s volleyball team captured the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championship, defeating perennial conference power, Hunter College, 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 10-25, 15-9) in last week’s title match.

It was the first time the Hawks of Hunter have been dethroned as conference champs in six seasons.

As for the No. 1 Bulldogs, they faced NYU in the NCAA Division III tournament last Friday, and fell, finishing their season, 16-13. NYU is now 27-1.

“I’m so proud of this team,” fourth-year head coach and Brooklyn College alum Mateusz Gotowicki said after the Hunter win.

The Brooklyn College women’s volleyball team.
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn College Athletics

Brooklyn’s Ezri Shor, a Midwood High grad, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, finishing with 34 assists to go along with 13 digs.

Freshman outside hitter Aleah Rafat had 16 kills in the match and was named to the All-Tournament team along with sophomore teammate outside hitter Ashley Fung.

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Jerry Kipnis was the voice of the City University of New York basketball radiocasts on WNYC (830-AM) some 50 years-ago.

Games were packaged by his Hunter College classmate, David J. Halberstam, and were broadcast at the then-most unusual time of 5 p.m., Sunday afternoons.

Kipnis read the piece in the Eagle last week on Steven Edelstein’s passing and had this to say: “Interesting coincidence, but I was reacquainted with Adels when I was working in the financial operations consulting space some years ago and was aware of his company while I was working for several competitors of his firm, Capital Markets Consulting.

“When we touched base at one point via e-mail, I realized who he was and where I knew him from. On LinkedIn we had over 20 mutual connections, virtually all of them were colleagues of mine in the consulting business. Sorry to hear of his untimely passing.”

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More Adels feedback from PSAL advocate Richard Kosik: “Your story about Adels was touching and very special and it got me thinking,” he wrote. “I read recently that over 200-plus surviving veterans from WWII are passing every day. Also, that there are only 10 men left who were members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. Ten!”

He adds: “The story was very touching. Friendship is a powerful thing and something each passing year one cherishes more when you have that special relationship from the days of your youth. I’m fortunate enough to have a good handful from my early days in Astoria (1946-plus). A break for college (’64-’68) took me to Kansas where I met and bonded with a special crew of Brooklyn guys – many who remain friends to this day. And yeah, since living here in Bay Ridge since 1979, I’ve found that those real ‘Brooklyn guys’ are a special breed.”

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Femi Odukale, a sophomore guard on the University of Pittsburgh, opened the season with a 20-point scoring outburst against The Citadel in a 78-63 Pitt Panther defeat.

The 6-5 Odukale played for coach Shawn Mark at South Shore High School, and helped the Vikings to two PSAL championships. He led South Shore to a 28-6 record, including a 17-2 league mark, and state playoff appearance as a senior. That team finished the season ranked 10th in the state of New York.

As a junior, he helped the Vikings to a 20-8 record, including a 10-4 mark in conference play, and a playoff appearance. He led South Shore to its first city championship as a junior – and was named MVP of the title game

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The basketball Terriers of St. Francis College will meet St. John’s University at Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, Queens, Tuesday (Nov. 23).

Jamaal Womack, senior advancement officer for Engagement for the College, reports a special pre-game reception for alumni and friends at Acquistas Trattoria (178-01 Union Turnpike, Flushing) is set from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. “A limited number of tickets will be available,” he writes. His e-mail is: [email protected] – his office number is: (718) 489-5441.

Alex Lang, the women’s basketball coach at Brooklyn College who doubles as the school’s associate director of athletics, celebrated his 300th career win as coach on Nov. 9 in an 84-46 win at home over Rutgers-Newark.

Lang’s career started in 2002, and he’s guided the women to a pair of CUNYAC Championships, NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back ECAC Championships as well as nine consecutive 20-win seasons. He’s earned multiple Coach of the Year awards and currently sits on the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee.

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Already struggling through a stretch of poor play, Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold now is seeing his season get even tougher.

Darnold suffered an incomplete fracture in his right (throwing) shoulder blade and will miss four-to-six weeks with the injury, Panthers coach Matt Rhule confirmed recently.

Which prompted Brady Quinn, the former Notre Dame quarterback who hosts the national morning show on Fox Sports Radio – Two Pros and a Cup of Joe –with Lavar Arrington and Jonas Knox – to say: “Things are going so badly for Darnold, he can’t even complete a fracture.”

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurman FSR