Scholastic Roundup: Brooklyn Tech’s streak comes to an end

February 2, 2024 Andy Furman

Brooklyn Technical High School, aka Brooklyn Tech, as seen from Ashland Place in Fort Greene. Wikimedia photo by Jim Henderson

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It was a good run, but the Brooklyn Tech basketball Engineers unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Jan. 26. They fell 59-47 to Robeson Business Tech.

Miles Wurmfeld scored 12 for the Engineers, and Chadwyck Beckford added 12 with seven rebounds and two steals.

The loss dropped Tech’s record to 9-6. As for Robeson Business Tech, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them, up to 2-9.

Prior to their loss, the Engineers topped Sunset Park, 58-49. Baseer Mirza scored 12 for the winners with nine rebounds. Teammate Luke Opalack had a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds.

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Iona University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams rolled to a pair of wins on Senior Day, last Saturday. The Iona women topped Manhattan by a score of 182-79 to pick up their third win of the season and the Iona men posted a 182-56 tally for their fifth win on the year.
Brooklyn’s Brian Baldwin (Xavier High School) was a winner in the 100-Butterfly (53.06). The MAAC Championships are set for February 14th.

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Jerry Donner, the former athletic director at LIU, reported on the South Florida Basketball Association Annual Legends Charity Luncheon staged at the Broken Sound Club last month in Boca Raton, Fla.

“Israel’s Mr. Basketball Tal Brody, NBA Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens (Boys High) and Miami Heats’ Tony Fiorentino were featured guests.
“Tal (Brody) flew in from Israel and mesmerized the audience with stories about his basketball journey and the incredible Maccabi Tel Aviv World Championship in 1977,” Donner writes. “Tal was introduced by award winning producer Dani Menkin, whose documentary, “On the Map,” tells the story of the Israeli victory.”

Donner added: “It’s impossible to hold an event like this without honoring the founder of the SFBA, Dave Weissman. Dave was a lifelong philanthropist, cared deeply about helping those in need, and as a result the SFBA gave a donation to the Israel ParaSport Center.”

Four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal made a special presentation to the group, Donner said.

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Selvyn Smith Memorial Sports and Educational Program Alumnus Keith Williams is playing basketball in the VFL Astro Stars Bochum, German Pro A League. and is averaging 13 points per game, reports Brooklyn’s Mr. Basketball, Mike Senior.
Williams is an all-CHSAA basketball grad of Bishop Loughlin High School who played at the University of Cincinnati and Western Kentucky University.

Brooklyn’s P.S. 3 at 50 Jefferson Avenue has morning and afternoon skill development sessions. “Twelve student-athletes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (7:30-8:10). In the afternoon, there are 22 kids. The afternoons are from 3-4:15 p.m.,” reports Senior. And he thanks Principal Kristina Beecher.

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LIU women’s lacrosse alum Jackie Sileo is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. In a ceremony hosted by Molloy University Saturday night, Sileo was inducted into the East Coast Conference Hall of Fame. Sileo scored points at a rate unmatched in the history of collegiate women’s lacrosse. She holds the ECC, Division II and NCAA all-division records with 564 points and 369 assists, while her 7.32 points per game rank second. She was the D-II single-season leader in points and assists in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2012 and 2013 Sileo won national championships with her teammates and was named a three-time first-team All American.

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LIU women’s lacrosse team has tabbed Ava Burns, Olivia Fantigrossi, Gina Toscano and Rachel Weber as team captains. Burns, a graduate midfielder, started all 17 matches last season, tallying 24 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Fantigrossi, a senior midfielder, appeared in all 17 games in 2023, tallying 27 goals, five assists, 13 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Toscano, a senior midfielder, is a two-time IWLCA Division I Academic Honor Roll achiever. She started all 17 games last season, tallying one goal, 25 ground balls, 23 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers. Weber, a senior midfielder also was an IWLCA Division I Academic Honor Roll achiever in 2023. She appeared in 15 games tallying six goals, one assist, five ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The Sharks open their 2024 season on February 10 against Hofstra at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

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It was a Shark stunner Saturday night when the LIU men’s volleyball team defeated No. 12 Lewis on the road. Kale Spencer and Livan Moreno were tied for the team lead in kills with 13. Spencer also tallied a team-high three service aces.

The women’s water polo squad got off to a great 2024 start with a convincing 16-8 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) University. Paola Dominguez-Castro led the charge with a team-high six goals and one assist. In her LIU debut, Sydney deVroedt scored four goals. Elena Camarena recorded three goals and three assists. The Sharks were anchored by goalkeeper Martina Giannoni, who tallied six saves.

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Brooklyn College men’s volleyball team was picked sixth in the 2024 City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, last week. Baruch was picked to win their fourth-straight conference title. Brooklyn’s sophomore outside hitter, Tommy Min, was named Player to Watch in the conference this season.

In their season opener, the men topped Purchase College last Wednesday (25-11, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-12). Aaron Siu led with 14 kills and four aces. David Lema had a match-high 43 assists and two aces of his own, and Min was involved with 12 kills, two aces, one block and 16 digs.

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St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn) men’s basketball guard Jonathan Reno was named Skyline Conference Player of the Week. The sophomore becomes the first men’s basketball player in known program history to earn Player of the Week accolades from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.

Last week, Reno totaled 30 points against Old Westbury and 26 against St. Joseph’s (Long Island).

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Senior forward Destiny Hurt eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone. courtesy of a fourth-quarter jumper from inside the arc. She ultimately scored 15 points as the St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn) women’s basketball team fell to the University of Mount Saint Vincent, 93-55, last Saturday afternoon.

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Kylie Grant scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season, but the Pratt Institute women’s basketball team couldn’t silence the Five Towns Sound last week at the Activities Resource Center, falling 80-30.

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The Medgar Evers women’s basketball team picked up a crucial CUNYAC victory Friday, boosting its postseason hopes by drubbing the Cardinals of York College, 86-38 at the Cougars Cave.

Freshman Aaliyah Lyons scored a team-high 18 points with game highs of assists and five steals. Jennifer Metra finished with 13 points and Sheily Quezada posted another double-double, scoring 12 points and tying for the team-high of 12 rebounds. She also added three assists and a pair of swatted shots.

Andecia Liverpool also registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

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