Sports
By Don Lyons - September 6, 2007
Adam Bresnick and Eli Dubin were finalists in men's doubles. Photos by Ralph Stewart
All Island Tennis
The third annual All Island Tennis Championships were held last weekend at the Vineyard Youth Tennis courts and at Farm Neck, benefit to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard. Contributions from 21 sponsors and entry fees from 64 players raised more than $7,000 for the agency, according to tournament director Mas Kimball.
Players were registered in two divisions: rough, for higher levels of play, and smooth, for 3.5 level and lower players.
Rough Division winners:
Men's singles round robin winner was Craig Rivers, with three matches won. Second, with two matches won, was Joe Ellison.
The men's doubles winning pair was Paul Adler and Eric Johnson, 6-4, 7-5 winners over Adam Bresnick and Eli Dubin.
Sally Lasker and Liz Roberts were surprise winners at women's doubles.
Men's doubles consolation winners were Mark Jenkins and Scott Nicol, who defeated Reggie Belgrave and Freeman Hammie, 6-2, 6-4.
At women's doubles the team of Sally Lasker and Liz Roberts upset Debbie Cooper and Sue Kimball, 6-1, 6-3.
In the consolation round, Hope Callen and Laura Schroeder did in April Tzanis and Linda Wheeler, 6-1, 6-3.
Adam Bresnick and Laura Schroeder were the big winners at mixed doubles meeting the challenge of Karen Blackerby and Kevin Lewis, 6-3, 6-4.
In the mixed consolation round mother and son Liz and Jack Roberts survived Hope Callen and Tony Omer, 6-3, 7-6.
Paul Adler hits a backhand volley winner in the men's doubles final.
Smooth division results
Men's singles: Bill Mallory, 6-4, 6-3, over Sharpe James.
Men's singles consolation: Lew Downing over Edward Fields, 6-2, 6-4.
Winner of the men's doubles round robin: Russell Hawkins and Al Lindsay with three matches won. Finalists Skip Davis and Steve Goldner, two matches won.
Women's doubles: Sally Anderson and Susie Safford over Mary Breslauer and Oteia Bruce, 6-0, 6-1.
Women's doubles consolation: Shelley Amster and Albertha Hicks defeated Beth Cranston and Anne Williamson, 6-3, 6-4.
Mixed Doubles: Rob Pierce and Liz Pierce, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10 winners over Shelley Amster and Steve Goldner,
Mixed Doubles Consolation: John Cahill and Doreen Rezendes over Shelley Amster and Steve Goldner, 8-5.
The Purple defense kept Bishop Connolly in check.
Football fortunes
The third and final football scrimmage was with Bishop Connolly, here, Friday. The red-shirted visitors were bigger than the purple-clad Islanders but not nearly as well coached. Nor were they as well conditioned as the Vineyarders.
The result of this discrepancy was a 28-8 win for the Vineyard. M.V. first scored on a lengthy pass from junior quarterback Mike McCarthy. The second TD came on a quarterback option with McCarthy keeping and running into the end zone. McCarthy threw for the third score, another lengthy gainer.
Nick Billingham replaced McCarthy at QB and engineered his own scoring drive as the last seconds ticked off the game clock. Zack Coutinho's big toe proved a dependable weapon in the M.V. arsenal, kicking bonus extra points after each touchdown.
Bp. Connolly scored late in the game against the Vineyard's second line.
Previously the Vineyarders had scrimmaged with Mashpee and Apponequet.
Friday opener with ORR
The football season begins for real tomorrow, Friday at 6:30 pm, on Dan McCarthy Field with visiting Old Rochester. Head Coach Donald Herman remarked that the Bulldogs are always well coached and "play the Vineyard tough."
M.V. has won four of the last six games with ORR but narrowly, most recently with a two-point margin.
Coach Herman expects Old Rochester to play a wide-open game testing the Vineyard ends and secondary.
As for the Mayflower League, in which the Vineyard is still a member, the coach sees a pretty even playing field with Blue Hills, Bristol-Plymouth, South Shore, Southeastern, and Cape Cod Regional.
Other non-league games are scheduled with Carver, Lee, Littleton, Hull, and, of course, Nantucket.
We observed that the football field grass was green while most of the surrounding campus grasses were burned brown. Obviously it had been watered and protected. Even last spring's lacrosse games were played elsewhere, allowing the football field to recover from overuse.
But Coach Herman said he hoped someone would give the school a million dollars, enough to install artificial turf which would stand up to constant traffic by students playing football, field hockey, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse.
Albion Alley putts out on the first green at Farm Neck.
Drivers putt best foot forward
Paced by Mass. Junior Champion Tony Grillo, MVRHS fall sports stepped off on the right foot, Thursday, with the golf team's 32.5 to 21.5 defeat of Seekonk at Ledgemont Country Club.
Tony's was the medalist round of par 36 besting his opponent 7.5 to 1.5.
Also in the first flight, Albion Alley won 6-3.
Henry Smith and Luke Pisano lost their matches in the second flight, but the third flight Vineyarders Greg Leonard and Sam Scott won handily.
Tuesday, at Farm Neck, the Islanders sank Wareham, 36-18. Grillo and Alley won easily in the first flight. Henry Smith and Luke Pisano dominated opponents in the second flight and Gregg Leonard produced the medalist round, 38 on the par 35, in the third flight. Sam Scott halved his guest.
The next two matches are at home with Bourne, today, and Nantucket next Tuesday.
Leandro Trindade pushes the ball up-field. Allan Birol backs the play.
Boys Soccer
Can a team recover after losing 16 players to graduation. including all but one of its starters? We should know more next week after the MVRHS boys soccer team has played at Nauset, Wednesday, at Seekonk, Friday and played host to Wareham, Tuesday.
Last year's team was the South Coast Conference champions and the top seed in the postseason MIAA Division 2 South tournament. It won't be this year. The South Coast Conference has turned down the MVRHS application to join - in effect, voting us out.
The Island team probably will not face a stronger opponent than it did Monday, when E.O. Smith came from Storrs, Conn., for a scrimmage. At the half, both teams were scoreless. At the end the visitors held a 4-1 advantage.
Coach Bob Hammond is a cool customer. Recognizing that there are so many and such large shoes to fill, he sounds hopeful, even confident, that his young team will meet the challenge of a new season with vigor.
Raz Sayre (above) rights his board to catch the breeze.
Challenge is met
The 20th Martha's Vineyard Challenge, benefit of M.V. Community Services, featuring the longest windsurfing race in the world, was sailed on the kind of day the Chamber of Commerce would like to describe as the typical end-of-summer occurrence, with blue skies and, according to Challenge founder and chief promoter Nevin Sayre, "plenty of wind for the Challenge fleet to make their journey around the Island and for windsurfers and sailors to have a great run - just the right amount of breeze to allow paddlers, oarsmen, and small sail craft to seize the day."
On the short course, Chris Crovatto paddled his kayak to a first place finish, nosing out (2nd) Veronika Van der Geer and (3rd) Eli Hanschka and Chase Lewis in an Open Bic.
Over the long course, Dana Gaines was the winner followed by (2) Whit Hanschka and (3) Tyler Stapleton. Over the Masters Course, Lucy Meyers beat out Herb and Donna Foster.
Windsurfers must also be ready to take a bath
At State Beach, in the Enduro Windsurfing races, the order of finish was (1) Solvig Sayre, (2) Philippe Jordi, (3) Gary Harcourt, (4) Rasmus Sayre, (5) Elie Jordi.
With 15-knot winds from the northeast, Peter Howell sailed Gwyn Erye, to victory. Hugh Martin in Moira Elizabeth was second trailed by (3) Michael Jacobs in Sakie, and (4) Frances Desmone in Sanderling.
The Windsurf Challenge fleet counted 15 sailors to begin the Island-circling race, but only two finished the course: Nevin Sayre in 4:21 and Steve Besse in 5:18.
Nevin led fund-raisers, too, with $2,465 pledged or given to M.V. Community Services. Keith Cross collected $1,708. Youthful Jessilee Gross's total was $1,400. In all, the 2007 MV Challenge raised $14,423 for the multi-service agency, a new record for the 20-year-old event which has now surpassed $200,000.
