It was another busy week on the links at Hickory Ridge Golf Resort as four leagues reported in with their updated results.

Starting the week off was the Monday Night Men’s League that has Todd Cappotelli and Ryan Keller in first place with131  points.  Ron Hering and Gerald Furness are in second place with 109 points followed closely by the team of Frank Heinlein and Jim Carlson with 108.5 points.  Rounding out the top five teams are Don Young and Rod Heinlein with 96.5 points and Sal Deluca and Wayne Schiavone with 95.5.  Low gross for the week was shared by Keller and Deluca who both shot 43.  Keller also took low net with a 29 and shot the only birdie of the night.

The Tuesday Ladies League had Deb Wood shooting low gross with a 41 followed by Diane Abel and Cheryl Ferguson who both shot 48.  Paula Knaak had low net with a 31 while her partner Melissa Cotter had 36.  Abel, Wood, Cotter and Laurie Freeman all had birdies on the tough back nine.   Judy Schuth and Dian Hennecky and tired at the top of the leaderboard with Deb Birkins and Patty Pfister at 40.5 points.  Ferguson and Vicki Brawn hold down third with 35.5 points.

No changes at a the top of the standings from last week for the Men’s Thursday Night League as the team of Dresser and Flansberg continue to lead with 140 points.  Drury and Nagy are in second with 122 points and Bennett and Budde hold down third with 114 points.  Rounding out the top five in the standings are the teams of Bedford and Burgess with 114 points and Dibley and Flansberg who have 110 points.  Low Gross for the night was shot by Dave Fisher with a 36.  Mike Hartmen took low net with a 24.  Fisher, Hartman and Gene Ashe had two birdies each.

Finally, the Friday Night Mixed Couples League have Dave and Melissa Cotter leading with 308 points.  Bill Fitzgerald and Fave McNeil are tied for second with Jim and Marcia Zambito at 314 points each.  John and Diane Colsanti are in fourth with 321 points and Owen and Jan Toale hold down fifth was 330 points.

Contributed Photo – Snell’s captured the inaugural Orleans County Division 1 softball championship in 1990. The Snell’s lineup included, in front, John Grillo, Jim Aina, Larry Hughson, Ron Ricker, Jason Zicari and Dave Snell. In back are Dan Monacelli, Frank Bartlett, Pete Jones, Alec Sherman, Stan Romanowski and Dan Bartlett.

The interest in slo-pitch softball exploded in this area during the 1980’s and 1990’s as the Medina League alone had as many s 32 teams competing in four divisions and the Albion League three divisions.

In 1990 the inaugural county men’s softball championships were held at Medina’s Vets Park and in the featured Division 1 title contest Medina League Division 1 champion Peter Snell Real Estate defeated Albion League Division I champ ERA Morrison Realty 16-4.

Snell’s took charge at the outset by exploding for nine runs on nine hits in the first inning highlighted by a three-run home run by Frank Bartlett and two-run singles by Stan Romanowski and Jason Zicari.

The winners quickly tacked on three more runs in the second inning on a double by Pete Jones and consecutive singles by Dan Bartlett, Ken Burke and John Grillo.  Jones and Dan Bartlett then had back-to-back doubles to ignite another three run uprising in the third inning.

Zicari finished with a total of four hits as Frank Bartlett, Jones, Dan Bartlett and Grillo each added three and Larry Hughson, Burke, Romanowski and Ron Ricker two each.

For Morrison’s, Mike Kent, Mike Talbot, George Hildreth and Dan Marek each banged out a pair of hits.

In all four division champions were crowned in the event which included not only the Medina and Albion playoff winners but also the Barker League champion.

In a matchup of Division 2 champions, Rudy’s of the Albion League defeated Ranallo’s of the Medina League 18-13. The other title contests saw Albion Division 3 champion Pritchard/Slack defeat Medina League Division 4 champ Knights of Columbus I 15-5 and Medina Division 3 champion Mr. Ed’s down Barker League champ Klino’s 10-6.

Time literally has run out on the Medina Women’s Softball League’s attempt to play what now would have been a very short season.

With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions the league had targeted a July 6 start to what was hoped to be a six week long season with teams playing doubleheaders on Monday nights.

However, the start was pushed back as the league awaited clearance from the national governing body the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association (USSSA).

And now despite getting USSSA approval, league officials state that at this point it is not feasible to try to play such a short season.

“We have decided to cancel the Monday night season for this year,” said League President Kathy Riggs-Allen.  “We did get the “ok” to start, but with insurance cost and a shorter season it wasn’t economically feasible for the league to sustain this year.”

On Thursday New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) officials announced that the start of practice for the fall high school sports season is being pushed back one month from August 24 to September 21.

In addition, officials announced that if a spike in the Covid-19 case rate should cause the fall season to be interrupted then a plan is in place to instead play three condensed sports seasons beginning January 4.

However, the tentative dates for those condensed seasons reflected a good deal of overlap as the Winter season would run from January 4 to March 13, the Fall season from March 1 to May 8 and the Spring season from April 5 to June 12.

Because of concerns that have been raised over those tentative dates if a condensed three season plan was needed NYSPHSAA officials this morning issued the following statement.

“IF needed, overlap in a potential condensed season format would be a concern; dates are tentative. Season 3 (the Spring season) could end in late June and consideration for 8/9 week seasons, rather than 10 is a possibility; overlap would then be reduced. We will focus on what is best for kids,” officials stated.

Contributed Photos – Ray Neuman, left, has won a record eight Shelridge Club championships while Dave Boice is second on the all-time list with six victories.

Since the club’s inaugural year in 1960 the Club Championship has been the feature event at the Shelridge Country Club and over the past six decades it has had nearly a dozen multiple winners.

Walter Levandowski outdueled Edward Slack in a 56 hole marathon (20 holes over the then tourney regulation 36) to win the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1960.

However, the trend of multiple winners then quickly began as William Meredith captured the title the next three years in a row (1961-62-63).

Ray Neuman holds the record having captured the President’s Cup eight times. He scored solo wins in 1997 and 2000, then took two in a row in 2005 and 2006 and finally captured four straight from 2008 to 2011.

Neuman’ s run of four straight from 2008 to 2011 ties the record for most titles in a row which was first set by Tom Hungerford who claimed the championship in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Dave Boice, who captured titles in three different decades, is second on the all-time list having claimed the President’s Cup six times. He scored wins in 1978, 1980, 1986, 1990, 1991 and 1994. That 1994 title was most memorable as he rallied from seven shots back over the final 18 holes to earn the championship.

In addition to Hungerford, two other golfers are four-time champions –  John Francisco Jr. who won in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1987, and Brandon Grzywacz who is the current three time defending champion. He first won in 2012 and has now claimed the title in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Grzywacz and Francisco join Meredith as the only golfers to capture the title three years in a row.

In addition to Meredith, two other golfers have claimed the title three times – Mark Rydza in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and Brett Decker in 2007, 2015 and 2016.

The event has also seen a trio of two-time champions including Richard Siedlecki (1966 and 1967), Stu Broom (1968 and 1970) and Alex Misiti (2013 and 2014.

The club’s list of President’s Cup championships also has 19 one time winners, all of which occurred before 1999. That list includes:  Richard Bloom (1964), Doug Patten (1965), Richard Otto (1969), Jim White (1971), Duane Johnson (1972), John Francisco Sr. (1973), Pete Corrallo (1974), Jim Castle (1975), Tim Moriarty (1976), Bruce March (1977), Rick Barden (1979), Rodger Schmidt (1984), Stu Caswell (1985), John True (1988), Lynn Evans (1989), Lou Valery (1992), Bob Moreland (1993) and Bruce Foley (1998).

The 2020 President’s Cup tourney is slated for later this month.

BATAVIA –  Following the announcement and guidelines released Monday by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), Genesee Community College will shift its Fall 2020 athletic season and combine it with the Spring 2021 season in light of the challenges and safety concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

GCC men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, swimming and diving, and women’s volleyball competitions will be rescheduled from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021, in line with the NJCAA and the majority of Region III team decisions. GCC coaches are communicating this news to their teams while planning for the College’s student-athletes to experience safe athletic training and conditioning activities this fall.

GCC’s new athletic facility, the Richard C. Call Arena which features an indoor field house, state-of-the-art Fitness Center and Human Performance Lab, classrooms and coaches’ offices, and a press box overlooking the turf field opened in 2017. The new Call Arena joined the original Anthony B. Zambito Gymnasium which supports basketball and volleyball, and the College’s unique second-story swimming pool. These combined facilities make GCC well-positioned to manage the dual scheduling challenges ahead.

“Our athletic complex is among the finest in the region and I am confident we will rise to the challenge of giving our Cougar athletes the best experience possible,” Kristen Schuth, GCC’s assistant vice president of Student Engagement & Inclusion and athletic director said. “I am sure that the 2020-2021 season will be one to remember, but I’m also confident that with a lot of strategic planning and scheduling, we will move forward during this difficult time and give our student-athletes every opportunity for success.”

All of GCC sport-specific updates will be shared as they become available at www.geneseeathletics.com.