Scholastic Roundup: 2 titles for 2 Brooklyn schools

November 29, 2024 Andy Furman

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Two Brooklyn schools – James Madison and Abraham Lincoln — won the Public Schools Athletic League tennis championships, played last week at Queens College.

In the 2A championship, No. 1-seed Madison topped McKee/Staten Island Tech, while in the 1A title match, fifth-seed Lincoln defeated seven-seed High School for Environmental Studies.

In 2A, first-singles, McKee’s Priyanka Shah rolled to a 10-5 tiebreak win over Madison’s Mariia Vainshtein. Madison’s Nicoletta Draganchyuk tied the match at one, with a super tie-break over Nicole Soltsov. In third singles, it was Madison’s Milana Markov; she knocked-off Katherine Kobichev from McKee, 6-1, 6-1.

The championship was decided with the second doubles match which pitted Madison’s Angela Wu and Irma Gaidukova against McKee’s Irina Lai and Lindza Peysakhova. At 9-5, on match point it was Gaidukova who was able to score a net winner as James Madison won their first PSAL girls tennis title since 1978, defeating McKee/Staten Island, 3-2.

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Lincoln topped the High School for Environmental Studies, 3-2 for the 1A championship. Jazell Davis and Shayna Weekes defeated the duo of Ndeye Ndiaye and Oumy Ndiaye from Environmental Studies, in second doubles for the Lincoln win, 3-2 and the title.

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The Engineers of Brooklyn Tech made history last week, when their girls’ soccer team became just the fourth team in PSAL history to win three-straight championships. It was Caelan Bacon’s free kick from the right side that went into the bottom right corner of the goal that was just enough for Tech to top Bronx High School of Science, 1-0 for the 3A title.

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Fort Hamilton rolled Harry S. Truman on the football field last week, 38-22; upping their season mark to 9-1 and 6-1 in 3A league play. Junior quarterback Aiden Farley tossed four touchdowns, and went 13-for-18 for 218 yards. Freshman running back, Harold Marshall III scored two touchdowns and rushed for 123 yards on 15 carries; junior receiver August Portree had three scores on six receptions for 78 yards.

In PSAL 1A action, Transit Tech, 9-3, 8-0; dropped a 12-8 decision to Jamaica – a team they shut-out, 8-0 back on September 28th. Eagle Academy for Young Men III, 10-1, 8-0; defeated Far Rockaway, 14-8 in 2A action; Brooklyn Tech, 9-1, 6-1, got past A. Phillip Randolph in 3A, 28-20; South Shore, 9-3, 8-0; was blanked 28-0 by Curtis in 4A; while Erasmus 9-2, 7-1, rolled Tottenville, also in 4A, 46-40. The Flying Dutchmen are ranked 22nd in New York State.

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History repeated itself at Xaverian High School. The varsity and jayvee girls’ volleyball teams both finished the CHSAA Tier 1 regular season undefeated and won the diocesan crown as well as the city championship.
Both squads did the exact same thing a year-ago.

The jayvee Clippers topped Fontbonne Hall Academy in the diocesan semifinals and defeated Archbishop Molloy for the Brooklyn-Queens title. They beat Maria Regina, Hartsdale, New York, for the city championship.

Xavierian’s jayvee has won six consecutive city championships the past seven years under coach Marie McGoldrick.

The varsity had their semifinal win over Fontbonne Hall and the championship was a win over St. Francis Prep. For the city title, the varsity Clippers defeated Maria Regina. In the state finals, the Clippers fell to St. Mary’s for the second-year in-a-row.

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Shannon Carr took her Saint Ann’s girls’ volleyball team to the state title – they went 23-0 – and captured the New York State Association of Independent Schools championship. In 2006 she also won the state title – but that team did not go undefeated, as previously reported in Monday’s (Nov. 25th) story- they had one loss. “So,” she writes, “it’s been 18 years since our last State Championship; but I have been at Saint Ann’s for 29 years.”

She was also proud to note, two ninth graders were starters on this year’s team. “The bus provided by the school to support us to the Finals was for both faculty and our students,” she said. “And we defeated Marymount, a sixth seed, for the title – I know I originally said third.”

Saint Ann’s has volleyballers playing at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn; and Amherst College in Mass.

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Coming off the team’s first season in the Atlantic East Conference, Pratt Institute junior Emily Sontag, has been named to the All-Conference Second Team in volleyball. She handed-out 362 assists (4.8 per-set) and serving a team-high 40 aces (0.5 per-set) that was sixth in the league.

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LIU’s football team wrapped-up the 2024 season with a 35-28 win over Wagner College, Saturday afternoon. Quarterback Ethan Greenwood scored two touchdowns. LIU’s 35 points marked a season-high, surpassing the 31 points scored against Robert Morris in Week 8.

The LIU Lady Sharks basketball team host Northeastern, Sunday (Dec. 1st). They dropped a 65-54 decision to Binghamton last Friday — Survive Legions scored 13 points.
The magical run for the LIU men’s soccer team ended in the opening-round of the NCAA Soccer Tournament against Maryland, last Thursday. The Sharks fell 5-2 and finish the season with eight regular-season wins, including four in Northeast Conference play.

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The St. Joseph’s University, Brooklyn men’s basketball team suffered a 74-73 loss to Keystone College, Saturday to conclude their participation at Marywood’s Electric City Classic, in Scranton, Pa. Two freshmen did the scoring for the Bears – Colin Mills with 18 and Brooklyn’s Maven Cummings came off the bench to add 12.

Fontbonne Hall Academy grad Aaniya Tedford, a St. Joseph’s University, Brooklyn, sophomore —scored 12 points to go along with five rebounds but the Bears fell to St. Joseph’s (Long Island) 84-57 in their Skyline Conference opener last week at The Hill Center.

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The Medgar Evers men’s basketball team dropped its home opener last Thursday, falling to the Cyclones of Centenary University, 96-63 at the Cougar Cave. Senior Ryan Panagakos scored a game-high 16 points and tied for the team-high with six rebounds.
The Medgar Evers women’s basketball team lost their home opener falling to the Roadrunners of Ramapo College, 59-37, Saturday at the Cougar Cave. Junior Sheily Quezada posted her third double-double of the season, 11 points, with a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocked-shots.

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Led by freshman guard Amee Daniels’ (Uncommon Charter High School) 22 points, the Brooklyn College women’s basketball team pulled out their second win at home over Rowan University, 73-71 Friday. The Bulldogs host New Jersey City University, Monday (Dec. 2nd, 65 pm). They sport a 2-3 overall record.

Brooklyn’s women’s volleyball team end their season 14-14, 5-2 CUNYAC. They fell to the Bloodhounds of John Jay in the City University of New York Athletic Conference tournament.

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