Boys Bowling

Longwood 932,1035,980 Riverhead 894,907,882. Dec. 8

Ward Melville 846,731,694 Longwood 1049,1089,1099. Gocinski’s 298 leads Longwood. R.J. Gocinski bowled 11 straight strikes for a 298 in Game 3 of a 771 series as Longwood beat Ward Melville, 1049-846, 1089-731, 1099-694. Andrew Turner added a 233 in Game 1 of a 648 series.   Dec. 10

Longwood 982,1127,919 Connetquot 969,1004,953.  Dec. 17

Longwood 1051,1014,1065 Floyd 914,985,948. Jan. 7

Longwood 865,736,812 W. Islip 687,641,751. Turner turns in top performance. Andrew Turner rolled a 258 in Game 2 of a 730 series as Longwood defeated Ward Melville 1,000- 846, 993-733, 1,024-855. Turner had either a strike or a spare in all 30 frames.Jan. 12

Longwood 1000,993,1024 WM 846,733,855.  Jan. 14

Longwood 1168,1000,967 Conn. 971,839,902. Longwood wins. Andrew Turner had a 279 in Game 1 of a 689 series as Longwood beat Connetquot, 1,168-971, 1,000-839, 967-902.  Jan. 21

Longwood 1056,1128,959 Sachem East 928,941,970.  Jan. 28

Longwood 921,990,982 Patchogue-Medford 924,891,963. Feb. 1

Longwood 1007,1008,910 Sachem East 925,952,878. Feb. 1

SUFFOLK BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Longwood county champ: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

TOM ALLEGRA. STAFF WRITER. 

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 Feb 2005: 

It was the closest meet in the 42-year history of the Suffolk boys bowling team championships, and Longwood wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

Leading Smithtown by 56 pins entering the sixth and final game yesterday at Sayville Lanes, the Lions came out on fire, rolling a clean opening seven frames en route to their first county title since 1998.

“We needed to beat Smithtown by 57 pins,” Longwood senior Kevin Kearney said, “and we started out stronger than in any game today. We just kept striking.”

Especially Kearney, who opened with eight straight X’s to keep the standing-room-only crowd on its feet. Kearney finished with a 255 in a 1,107 game for Longwood, which advances to the state team championships in upstate Latham on March 5. “This is the closest it’s ever been,” Kearney said, noting that the top seven teams were separated by only 100 pins after three games, “and that’s just unheard of.”

Smithtown got five straight strikes from both Brian Russell and Matt Bennett to open Game 6. Russell finished with 257 and Bennett 232 as Smithtown totaled 1,090 pins, but it wasn’t enough. Each of Longwood‘s five bowlers rolled no lower than 204, with R.J. Gocinski adding 223 and Andrew Turner 217. Rob Matz, who had a 204, finished with a meet-high 1,368 total pins. Kearney was second with 1,367.

“Everyone screaming behind Kevin made him bowl one strike after another,” Longwood coach Doug Dwyer said.

Longwood wins sans Kingsepp

When the Longwood boys bowling team won its first county title since 1998 the margin of victory was the closest in the 42-year history of the Suffolk boys bowling team championships. The outcome may not have been that close had Matthew Kingsepp been rolling strikes and picking up spares for Longwood. Kingsepp, now a junior at Miller Place, was a member of the Longwood squad as an eighth- and ninth-grader until his family moved.

Kingsepp, who has a 200-plus average, no longer has a team to play on after the Miller Place School District cut the bowling program from the interscholastic sports. Longwood will play for a state team championship in upstate Latham on March 5. Feb. 22

STATE BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Novotny sparks Longwood’s late rally: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

TOM ALLEGRA.STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 06 Mar 2005

If a Sixth Man Award had been presented at yesterday’s state bowling championships, it would have gone to Longwood‘s Rob Novotny.

Despite riding the bench for the first five games of the six- game meet, the senior never stopped trying to light a fire under his teammates. He cheered until he lost his voice, then finished his high school career with a 199 in the sixth game for Longwood, which rolled a meet-high 1,201.

“When people get loud, we always seem to do a lot better, and Rob is the most enthusiastic person on the team,” said Longwood senior R.J. Gocinski, whose 1,341 total pins were the most of any Long Island participant. “He loses his voice every match. And he pumped us up and got us going. He got the adrenaline going in all of us.”

Led by Kevin Kearney’s 277 and Rob Matz’s 258, Longwood‘s Game 6 total was good enough for a runner-up finish behind Elmira South Side (Section IV) at the Bowlers Club in upstate Latham. It also was the highest single-game total in two years under coach Doug Dwyer, and was highlighted by seven straight strikes from Kearney and six from Matz to start the sixth game.

Dwyer called the strong finish an example of the Lions’ never- say-die attitude. They dropped to fifth place after rolling a 942 in Game 3.

“You basically have to be on all six games, and after that game, they knew it took us out of contention,” Dwyer said. “But we came back and bowled fantastic in the second half.”

Longwood‘s second-place finish was the best of any of Long Island’s eight participating teams. Led by Commack’s Billy Shannon and Bay Shore’s Cliff Collazo, the Section XI boys team finished fourth.

Things didn’t go as planned for East Islip’s girls, who finished fifth, and Clarke’s boys, who finished seventh. The Rams, whose starting five averaged no lower than 200 in the Nassau County championships, didn’t have one bowler average higher than 195 yesterday.

“We missed a lot of spares and had a bad day,” Clarke coach Bryan Landini said. “If you have a bad game in the counties, you can hang on. But if you have a bad day in the states, there are a lot of good teams that will put you away.”

Elmira was probably lucky it wasn’t a nine-game series.

“If Longwood would have kept bowling,” All-Suffolk boys coach Rick Papandrea said, “they would have won.”