Brooklyn Boro

Scholastic Roundup: City champs has a nice ring to it

June 9, 2023 Andy Furman
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City Champions.

It has a nice ring to it – and that’s exactly what the varsity boys’ tennis team at Xaverian High School are called – City Champs!

The Clippers topped Monsignor McClancy, 4-1 to win the CHSAA City Championship Monday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

In first singles, George Sfouggatakis battled to a 2-6, 6-3, 10-5 win. James Schmidt won his second singles match, 6-1, 6-0. He finishes his Xaverian career 18-0 overall and undefeated in individual matches the past two years.

The first doubles team of John Paskowski and George Robokos secured convincing wins along with the second team of Giovanni DeSantis and Vincent Parente.

Seniors Sfouggatakis, Schmidt, Rob Krute and Jordan Mercado finished their Xaverian tennis careers with three city championship appearances, winning two.

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Monday’s Eagle story on FDR grad Jay Rokeach, who is completing 55 years as baseball PA announcer for the University of Miami (Fla.) brought some comments from Al (Oogie) Egenthal.

“My first-year teaching at FDR was Jayro’s senior year,” he wrote. “He was one of the greatest announcer/managers even in high school. While I was jayvee coach and assistant varsity coach to Len Schroder, we often discussed a bigger role for this ‘kid’ in the future.

“I actually saw Jayro while officiating an intercounty playoff game at a Miami high school one year,” Egenthal continued. “He was the same gentlemanly person as we chatted many years later. Congratulations to a great asset to FDR High School and especially the University of Miami.”

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Speaking of Jay Rokeach, who now has a baseball card courtesy of the University of Miami – he also has a milkshake named after him at Miami’s Mark Light Field.

The Jayro – chocolate with Oreos and fudge – is a top-seller at the ballpark.

Mitch Freedman, who has run the stand for 38 years, has also created specialty shakes for various visiting teams. He served a vanilla shake with barbecued beef brisket in honor of the Texas Longhorns, a vanilla shake with Tabasco sauce for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and a vanilla shake with butter and lobster for the Maine Black Bears.

Mark Light Field is the only place you can get Freedman’s shakes. Professional athletes and movie stars – such as Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez – have been regular customers in the past. So, too, has rapper Luther Campbell, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, NFL Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks and former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy.

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Megan Campbell is the new women’s basketball coach at Brooklyn College.  After serving as assistant coach the past two seasons, Campbell replaces her former coach Alex Lang, who stepped down after 20 seasons.

She inherits a conference and regional power that has won the CUNYAC Championship and gone on to the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons.

After graduating from Brooklyn College, Campbell continued her playing career in Ireland for the Institute of Technology Carlow, where she helped the team to a Women’s National League Championship in 2017. While overseas, she also coached the Old Leighlin girls’ team to an All-Ireland Club Championship.

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The LIU wrestling team had an impressive presence on the National Wrestling Coaches Association academic awards list.

Wrestlers T.J. Franden, Joe Lopresti and Devin Matthews have been named NWCA Scholar All-Americans.

Additionally, LIU wrestling again was a top-30 team with a 3.30 collective grade-point-average.

LIU’s men’s water polo team has a conference home.

Northeast Water Polo Conference commissioner Dan Sharadin announced the addition of the Sharks beginning in the fall of 2023.

The seven-team NWPC also includes Brown, Connecticut College, Harvard, Iona, MIT and Princeton.

LIU athletics golf outing is set for Monday, July 17 at Indian Hills Country Club, Northport, New York with a noon shotgun start after a 10:30 am breakfast. Cocktail reception and dinner follow.

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Jimmy Baron, IMG Academy, is now the shooting coach for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. His dad, Jimmy, Sr., played his high school basketball at St. John’s Prep. He was an altar boy whose priest took him to watch college games – that wouldn’t you know it, featured St. Bonaventure and Bob Lanier.

The Sr. Baron later coached the Bonnies after stints at Rhode Island, St. Francis (Pa.) and an assistant at Notre Dame.

The 27th annual Lion Lancer Open Golf Outing and Pickleball Tournament is set for Monday, June 26th an Inwood Country Club (50 Peppe Dr., Inwood, NY 11096). All proceeds benefit Bishop Loughlin High School scholarships. Visit Loughlin.org/golf to register.

Registration/breakfast is 10 am; shotgun start at noon, pickleball at 1 pm and a 5:30 cocktail hour.

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The 2022-23 Academic All-District Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross-Country teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, had two men and three women from Pratt Institute.

Senior Bruce Westgate and sophomore Thomas Perrone were honored for the men while juniors Christina Sancho-Spore and Ava Hunwick and sophomore Siena Sujitno were named on the women’s squad.

Westgate defended his title as the ECAC Cross Country individual champion. Perrone excelled in the 800-meter and closed-out the season with a fourth-place finish at the ECAC Outdoor Championships.

Sujitno was the top point collector for the women at the C2C Championship and claimed the ECAC 10-meter title. Sancho-Spore medaled in third-place at both the ECAC Cross Country Championship and the ECAC Outdoor 1500-meter. Hunwick was a contributor at the 400-meter lowering her personal best several times throughout the season.

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Malachi Aiken, became the first St. Franc is College, Brooklyn to compete at an NCAA Regional since 2011. The sophomore competed in the triple-jump final and the long-jump final at the NCAA East Regional, hosted by the University of North Florida.

Aiken qualified for the long-jump event with a personal best 7.51-meter jump at the Towson Spring Open, back in March.

His best jump in Florida, clocked in at 6.82-meters, good for 45th place.

He then returned to the jump-pit the following day to cap-off the week with a triple-jump final. Aiken logged a 14.89-meter best jump on the day, placing him eighth in his flight and 37th overall.

The regional meet concludes Aiken’s season and the season for the Terriers track and field program.

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: @AndyFurmanFSR.

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