Honor Port Volleyball
Written by Andy Newman Friday, 01 March 2013 00:00
A demanding three-hour six-days-a-week practice schedule, combined with the ability to balance that schedule with the requirements of a rigorous academic program, has paid off with a unique honor for the Schreiber High School boys’ volleyball team.
The Vikings have been named the 2012 New York State Scholar-Athlete Champions by the state’s Public High School Athletic Association, an award that was established 12 years ago. It’s also the first time that any team from Schreiber has achieved this distinction.
The Board of Education also took note of the NYSPHSAA award, honoring the team for its combination of athleticism and scholastic achievement at its monthly meeting last week. Receiving recognition were team members Michael Berry, Jong Ho Byun, Ryan Capps, Evan Kerr, Ryan Kriftcher, Steven Lopez, Benjamin Moy, Kwanyong Park, Simon Shapiro, Matthew Shevrin and their coach, Maria Giamanco.
Giamanco also coached the girls’ team for 20 years, giving up that position two years ago when the timing of the volleyball season was altered. The realignment had both boys and girls playing their seasons at the same time. She has enjoyed great success over the years, in addition to this most recent honor, placing the boys’ team in the semi-final county playoffs 11 times in the past 13 years and winning the county titles three straight years, 1997-1999.
Stephanie Joannon, Port’s director of health, physical education and athletics and also Schreiber’s athletic director, is a great admirer of Giamanco’s work. “She’s completely invested in this program,” said Joannon. “She is the face of this program. There are always high expectations for her teams because of her. As a result, the boys have high expectations for themselves.”
Joannon also expressed her admiration for the team’s ability to succeed in balancing schoolwork and the demands of their team’s schedule. “They have such an aggressive schedule, “ she explained. “The season begins during the first week of August and goes through to the first week in November. It’s a credit to these boys that they are able to compete at a high level on the court and in the classroom.”
News
Wednesday, 19 June 2013 00:00
Patti Vonk announced earlier this month that she would be handing over the reigns of the Dolphin Bookshop to a new owner, long time employee Judith Mitzner.
Most of us in town don’t remember a time when Dolphin Bookshop wasn’t headed by a member of the Vonk family. Yet, the store first opened in 1946 and there were two previous owners. Mitzner’s recent purchase of this Port Washington treasure follows a history of employees taking over the ownership of the shop.
Friday, 14 June 2013 00:00
On June 1, the Lutheran Church of Our Savior on Franklin Avenue held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the Port Washington community to celebrate its $1.7-million expansion and renovation. The money has been donated by the congregation as well as through fundraising efforts that have taken place for over a decade. BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers designed the expansion and renovations, and Triton Construction served as the general contractor.
“I am very excited that we were able to improve our facilities for the benefit of the congregation as well as the entire Port Washington community,” said Reverend Dr. Charles R. Vogeley. “I would like to thank all congregation and project team members who made today’s re-opening celebration possible. In particular, I would like to recognize Tom Rice, who managed the entire project on behalf of our church, Roger Smith and BBS Architects, who designed the beautiful addition and new interiors, and the tireless supporter of the Port Washington community and parish secretary, after whom we have named the new kitchen, Veronica Ann Mosby,” Reverend added.
Sports
Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
On May 23, the Port Washington Badminton team won its second straight Nassau County Championship by defeating Calhoun by a score of 4-3. This is the third year in a row that Port has played Calhoun in the county finals, with each contest decided by a score of 4-3. In many ways this season followed the same pattern as last year. Of the thirty five teams in the county, Calhoun and Port entered the playoffs as the one and two seeds, respectively. They were Conference I co-champions, but because Calhoun’s margin of victory was greater than Port’s in their two regular season matches, the Colts got the number one seed.
On April 16, Port travelled to Calhoun and lost 1-6. The final team score, however, did not reflect how close the match actually was. Four of Calhoun’s wins came in three set matches (matches are best of three) that came down to the final few points. According to Coach David O’Connor, “It was the best 1-6 loss I’ve ever seen. We walked out of their gym very confident that we could beat them in the future. It may have been a major loss on paper, but I think it really got our players motivated for the rest of the season.”
Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
In only its third season, Port Rowing has grown from an exciting start up to a Long Island powerhouse, to a state champion, and now to a top national contender. Three boats qualified from New York State championships to represent Port Rowing at the largest high school Regatta in the world, The Stotesbury Cup, in Philadelphia. There were over 150 schools from America and Canada at the event, and Port Rowing came right out of the gate on fire. The team advanced all three boats into the second round of top 18. In the second round the boats fell just shy of the top 6 final by mere seconds. In the end, the Boys Freshman 8 took 12th overall, and the girl’s lightweight four and men’s junior eight took 7th overall. In the Adaptive category, Michael and Molly took home the title with a demanding victory in the double. It was a great achievement from the pair that just started rowing together less than a year ago to win the Stotesbury Cup.
Calendar
Opening Day at Manorhaven Pool
Saturday, June 15
Building a Bat Box at Sands Point Preserve
Sunday, June 16
Water Panel at Port Washington Library
Wednesday, June 19
Columns
The Worst-Case Coliseum
Written by Sheila Ferrari
Quinn’s Quest: Suburbia To Gracie Mansion
Written by Sheila Ferrari
Belmont Stakes 2013: A Sure Bet
Written by Mike Barry, MFBarry@optonline.net
