Island girl helps volleyball team to tourney title
by Kevin Cassidy
Islander Correspondent
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| Gillian Cassidy passes the ball for her Janasaries team during Suncoast Volleyball Club tournament action. Islander Photos: Kevin Cassidy |
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| Jo Jo Coulter, Heather Ball, Jacque Lynn Armer, Brooke Watchorn, Grayson Hall, Gillian Cassidy, Kia Kern, and Gabby Coulter pose for a picture with Coach Ted Rigo. Not pictured: Haley Coulter. |
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| Mickey Koczetsut slides home with a run for his Flagship Fire team as catcher Jacob Barker waits on the ball during a 15-12 win over HB Ace Hardware in minor league baseball action at G.T. Bray. |
Island resident Kia Kern and the rest of her Janasaries volleyball team captured their first tournament title when they swept all of their games at the Suncoast Volleyball Club March 7 volleyball bash.
Janasaries, which also boasts former Islander Gillian Cassidy as a teammate, defeated the Suncoast Volleyball Club team 25-11 and 25-18 in their first matchup. They followed with a 25-10 and a 25-14 win over LPL in their second match of the day. They earned first place with their 25-15, 25-22 victory over the Pinellas Heat.
Most of the girls have been practicing together for a few years under the guidance of Ted Rigo, who headed up some volleyball clinics at the Anna Maria Island Community Center last year. They got their first taste of tournament volleyball with Rigo, but didn’t experience much success, so getting a tournament win in their first try this year should be a confidence builder.
Leading the way for Janasaires was Jaque Lynn Armer with eight kills and Haley Coulter with four kills, six aces and six assists. Cassidy added five aces, two kills and five assists, while Brooke Watchorn had five aces and six assists. Other standouts include Grayson Hall, who had a perfect service percentage throughout the tourney, and Jo Jo Coulter, who finished with eight aces. Kern added two kills and two aces, while Heather Ball and Gabby Coulter each added three aces in the victory.
The girls now have their sights on the March 21 tournament at the Orlando Volleyball Academy. Good luck from The Islander!
Surf Shop victories
The West Coast Surf Shop squeaked out a pair of extra-inning Little League wins last week against the Yankees to finally earn the sweet taste of victory. They did it with improved pitching and capitalizing on mistakes and opportunities. They defeated the Yankees at home on March 9 behind the strong relief pitching efforts of Johnny Mattay and Philip Duduvoire. The Yankees starting pitcher gave the Surf Shop four innings before giving way to Mattay, who pitched a pair of innings. Duduvoire came on to pitch in the top of the seventh and retired the side in order with only four pitches. He induced a pair of bunt groundouts and a popup.
Mattay finished with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, while Carper added a single and a double. Dudevoire rounded out the West Coast Surf Shop offense with a pair of singles.
Their second game of the week on March 13 at G.T. Bray Park was another barn burner. The Surf Shop won 7-5, as Devin Cole and Mattay drew bases-loaded walks to force in Brennan Gallagher and Henrik Brusso with the go-ahead runs.
Mattay pitched three solid innings for the Islanders, allowing one hit and striking out four batters. Dudevoire followed with two innings pitched and four strikeouts, while Neal Carper came on to close the game out with six strikeouts in two innings of work.
Holmes Beach Hardware drops close one
Anna Maria Island Little League minor league team Holmes Beach Ace Hardware, playing in the Manatee West Little League, dropped a 15-12 decision to Flagship Fire on March 15. The Islanders are a largely inexperienced team, but they were very competitive on this day.
Ace took a 12-10 lead into the bottom of the third inning, but a pair of walks by Heather Payne and Anthony Mannino were followed by singles from Grant Setsma, Jared Dole, Mickey Koczetsut and Cody Yoho to give Flagship Fire the come from behind victory.
Koczetsut finished the day with a single, two runs scored and two RBIs, while teammates Yoho, Setsma and Dole each finished with a single and two runs scored.
Ace Hardware was led by Miles Fischer, who singled and scored twice, while Amanda Nyburgh, Evan Soudjwinj and Anthony Cucci each singled and scored.
Key Royale golf news
The Key Royale Club men played an 18-hole better-ball-of-partners game on March 11. The team of Dick Eichorn and Earl Ritchie matched the 11-under-par 53 carded by Pete Weir and Don Ruggles to tie for first place. Second place went to Tom Lewis and Chuck Boes with a 56, while Hal Sears and Gary Harris, Don Ledford and Bob Jorgensen and Bill Gallagher and Don Latorre each carded 57s to tie for third place.
The women of the Key Royale Club played a nine-hole low-net game on March 10. Leading the way was Penny Williams with 3-under-par 29 to lead Flight AA. In second place and three shots back were Joy Phelan and Jean Holmes. Flight A winner was Judy Ward, whose 2-under 30 was one shot better than Joyce Brown and Beverly Neville, who tied for second. Marian Mulroy, Sue Christensen and Meredith Slavin all carded even-par 32s to tie for first place in Flight B, while Markie Ksiazek’s 29 earned her first place honors in Flight C. Margie Jacob, Dolores Jorgensen and Sue Wheeler tied for second at even-par 32. Erma McMullen carded a 1-over 33 to capture Flight D with Dee O’Brien, Pat Rice and Sally York finishing in second place with 35s.
The Key Royale Club men played a two-best-balls-of-foursome game on March 9 and the team of Omer Trolard, Tom Nelson, Bob Dickinson and Peter Proxy combined to card an impressive, 10-under-par 54 to match the 54 carded by Bill Gallagher, Jerry Micho, Bob Schuets and Jim Helgeson. Second place went to the team of John Driscoll, Paul Kedyes, Bob Jorgensen and Don Ledford, who were one shot back.
Horseshoe news
March 11 saw three teams and a walker waiting for the five available pits. In the first game, John Crawford and Ron Slagh easily defeated Debbie Rhodes and Bruce Munroe 21 to 6. In the second contest, walker Art Kingstad easily defeated Leo Hutton and British visitor Ron Chance 24 to 9. The playoff was a see-saw battle culminating in a win 21-20 win for Crawford and Slagh.
On March 14, four teams competed and the team of Norm Good and Steve Grossman won.
Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.
Anna Maria Island Little League schedules
Majors
Date Time Field
March 20 7 p.m.Surf Shop vs. Reebok Coyotes Bray-3
March 23 6:30 p.m. Troxler & Smith vs. Surf Shop AMICC
Minors
March 19 5:30 p.m. Spagnolo Auto vs. HB Ace Hardware AMICC
March 24 6:30 p.m. Wood Dock vs. HB Ace Hardware AMICC
Division????????????????
March 18 7 p.m. Panoramic vs. LBK Ace Hardware AMICC
March 21 noon Panoramic vs. Totally Cool AMICC |
