New York bestows volleyball, soccer honors

Eden setter Heather Feldman has been selected Gatorade's New York Player of the Year in girls volleyball.

Feldman signed a letter of intent last month with Gardner-Webb University. The 5-foot-9 senior has racked up numerous honors during her career at Eden. She'll be joining a program that is expected to return all 15 members of its 2010 squad next fall.

Feldman is the ninth Section VI player to win the New York honor since the award program for volleyball began in 1995. Eden's Ashley DoEpp was the recipient in both 2001 and '02.

Feldman was selected the tournament MVP last month as Eden won its second straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B championship in Glens Falls by downing Hendrick Hudson in the final. It marked coach Stephen Pierce's eighth state title in 17 seasons.



SOCCER ALL-AMERICANS ANNOUNCED
Rye senior striker Lia Bellizzi has been selected an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the third time, and teammate Tatiana Saunders, a goalkeeper, was honored for the second time.

Other New York girls selected were junior midfielders Jacqueline Firenze of Baker (Baldwinsville) and Cari Roccaro of East Islip (Islip Terrace) and senior forward Kristina Maksuti of Bethlehem Central (Delmar).

Among the six New York boys selected were Half Hollow Hills West (Dix Hills) junior forward Donovan Fraser and five seniors: Clarence defender Ryan Schroen; midfielders Ryan Tauss of Niskayuna and Brian Ward of Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius); and forwards Hiroki Kobayashi of Scarsdale and Tim Parker of Hicksville.

A LONG WAY FROM HOME, MATES
The boys and girls basketball teams from Prince Alfred College, a private secondary school from Adelaide, Australia, have been touring western New York this week, staying with Fredonia players, attending classes at Buffalo-area schools during the day and playing exhibitions at night.

Prince Alfred is on its fourth Buffalo-area tour since 2000. It began when western New York native Steven Johnson, now a science teacher at Chautauqua Lake, spent 12 years in Australia as a teacher.

The teams will spend several days in New York City and Philadelphia, with more games scheduled, and then stay over in San Francisco before the flight home.

ODDS AND ENDS
* Middle-distance standout Claudia Francis has rejoined the Cardozo (Oakland Gardens) track team, The New York Post reported. Francis had left the program after the 2009 cross country season following a falling out with her coaches and competed off the regular high-school circuit.



She won the 800 meters at the Nike Indoor Nationals in March in 2 minutes, 8.06 seconds and the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 2:07.30 last June.

Cardozo will have to overcome the loss of quarter-mile specialist Ahtyana Johnson, who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in September.

* The PSAL has instituted a pitch count for baseball pitchers in New York City. Hurlers throwing the maximum 105 pitches in a game will be required to get four days of rest before throwing in another game, and those throwing 76-90 pitches will need three days of rest. It'll be two mandatory days for 51-75 pitches and one day for a pitcher throwing 26-50 pitches.

The hole in the proposed law championed by New York City Councilmen Louis Fidler and Oliver Koppell is that other leagues might not follow along. The CHSAA doesn't plan to institute similar restrictions, and the Ivy League (the largest NYC private-school circuit) hasn't talked about the issue yet.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.