Three Old Westbury student athletes were recently offered the opportunity of a lifetime. Senior Adam Gomez, junior Ramon Diaz and sophomore Manny Ruiz were among a group of 26 chosen from among the 64 institutions that comprise the State University of New York (SUNY) to travel to Russia at the end of June as members of the SUNY All-Star Baseball Team.

Gomez, a pitcher; Diaz, a centerfielder; and Ruiz, a catcher, joined together to lead the Panthers to the 2002 ECAC Division III Championship game and earned repeated honors from the Knickerbocker and Skyline Conferences.

The All-Stars will be the only team from the United States participating as they play a series of exhibition games at an international collegiate tournament in Moscow, attracting teams from Russia, Japan and South Korea. The SUNY All-Stars will practice on Long Island later this month before heading for Moscow on June 24.