Sports Highlights

By Don Lyons - July 12, 2007

Girls basketball

A basketball league for high school girls and adults plays games in Oak Bluffs' Niantic Park, Sundays and Wednesdays. It is one of the several basketball programs conducted by the Oak Bluffs Park Department.

Summer soccer

In summer soccer action of the Vineyard Football Assn., Tuesday, at Veterans Park, Tisbury, Sports Haven got by MV Lathe & Plaster, 2-1 on goals by Nate Thayer and Chris Buehler's "beautiful header." Ryan Dwane scored for L & P.

In the second game Coop deVille and Broadway Screen Printing played to a 2-2 tie. Christopher Fager scored twice for Coop. Joey Sobola did the honors for Broadway.

League standings

team g w l t pts g ga gd

Coop de Ville 5 3 1 1 10 12 8 4
Atlantic FC 3 3 0 0 9 6 0 6
Sports Haven 4 2 2 0 6 6 7 -1
MV L & P 4 2 2 0 6 7 8 -1
Broadway 5 1 3 1 4 5 9 -4
Shirley's 3 0 3 0 0 2 6 -4

All-stars at Bourne

The MV 11 and under Little League baseball team finished second to Falmouth, losing the final game of the five-team tournament at Bourne, Sunday, 10-6. Other teams came from Harwich and Brewster.

This weekend the MV under 11 all-stars and the MV under 12 all-stars will travel to Nantucket for tournaments.

Bridgeheads

Six tables of Bridge Club of M.V. players occupied the Tisbury senior center for the weekly games, Saturday morning.

When the dust settled, James Kaplan and Ann Brown were found to be north-south winners with Betty Morris and Regina McDonough close behind.

At east-west the top guns were Tillie Foster and Emily Robertson. Frances Finney and Geraldine Jones were runners up.

Tennis anyone?

Farm Neck Tennis Club will host the Martha's Vineyard Tennis Open, Friday to Sunday, August 17-19. The weekend-long event will feature a women's doubles tournament and a men's doubles tournament as well as an event, new this year, for younger players. The Youth Tennis Center in Oak Bluffs will sponsor a morning of instruction, games, and matches on Saturday, the 18th.

Luke Jensen, with his brother a former French Open doubles champion, will visit to give tips to players young and not so young. Tennis pros working on the Island will also donate their time and efforts to make this a premier tennis event for all.

Entry fee for the tournament is $100 per player, $25 for children, benefiting the MV Cancer Support Group and the Mebbit Morano Memorial Scholarship Fund at MV Regional High School.

Beth & Jane pass

Beth Blankenship and Jane Elizabeth Taylor succeeded in passing the Basic Accreditation Exam of the Professional Skaters Assn. (PSA) at their International Seminar in Los Angeles. Passing the test opens the way to ratings and rankings in the PSA which is the governing body overseeing all educational events for U.S. figure skating coaches.

Tony at Concord

Tony Grillo, the lead golfer at MVRHS, shot a four-over-par round of 74, at the Concord Country Club's par 70 course, in the Mass Amateur Championship, Monday, putting him in fourth place with 14 other golfers. Bill Drohan of Bradford had the only sub-par round, a 69. The next day Tony shaved a stroke off his game, shooting 73.

At 147, Tony easily made the cut and shared the same score with seven others in the week-long event. Adam Rainaud of the Ledges and Kevin Velardo of Billerica moved into first place at 137. Drohan slipped to third on the leader board at 141.

Frisbee in the Forest

In the third week of Riverhead Field Disc Golf competition, players used the expert tees on the odd numbered holes and the intermediate tees from the even. Jake Gifford shot 60, taking the top spot in the Amateur One division. Dwight Kaeka was second at 62.

Danny and Daryl Kaeka both shot 63, finishing third.

In the Amateur Two division, Benton Coulter continued his strong play with a week's best 62, solidifying his overall lead in the standings. Junior Brazil was second at 65 and D.J. Kaeka third with 66.

Second Jack Spear

The Edgartown Golf Club has announced the second annual Jack Spear M.V. Open on Monday, Sept. 17, honoring the memory of the former club manager and high school coach..

The primary beneficiary of the event will be the MVRHS golf team fund and is open to golf professionals, club champions, and a select amateur field - 25 pros and 75 amateurs.

Monday evening there will be an awards banquet at Alchemy restaurant in Edgartown. There may be room for spouses. Call Cathy Bedot at the club to learn about availability.

Bay State Games

At least three Vineyarders are registered to compete in the 2007 Bay State Summer Games in and around Boston. Bob O'Rourke, 70, of Edgartown is entered to compete in Table Tennis. Jared Stobie, 20, of Tisbury and Ry Yennie, 18, of West Tisbury are entered in track and field

The games begin today with ceremonies at UMass Boston Gymnasium. Nancy Kerrigan, who won the figure skating gold medal at the first Games in 1985 before going on to be U.S. Champion and Olympic medalist, will be the keynote speaker.