Notre Dame

Dylan Versage had a pair of goals, including the game winner 7 1/2 minutes into the third period for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish beat Immaculate Heart, 3-2, in the consolation game of the Radier Classic.

Jason Harasimowicz dished out three assists and Ivan Madafferi added a goal with a helper for Notre Dame (2-1).

Thomas Dehr had 21 saves.

The other local hockey team did not come away with a victory Saturday.

The Batavia hockey team fell to 1-2 with a 3-2 loss to Hilton.

Corey Gurski scored the game-winning goal at the 9:32 mark of the third period as Hilton improves to 3-0-1. 

Dan Kellman and Andrew Harris had the assists on the winning goal, with Harris and Collin Sawdy each getting a goal.

Pat Finnell  and Josh Moir had a goal each for the Blue Devils.

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Freshman Keri Soppe dropped in 20 points with three boards to earn tournament MVP as West Irondequoit downed Pembroke 48-36 in the finals of the Alden Tournament.

The Eagles had a seven minute long, 13-point run in the third quarter to pull away as Cecilia Sigrist pitched in seven points and 10 rebounds.

Danielle Smith led the way for the Dragons (1-1) with 10 points while all-tournament team selection Nicole Sharick pitched in eight points, 14 rebounds and three steals.

Kelsey Lewis had eight points with Natasha Powell and Katie Hackett pulling down seven boards apiece.

Irondequoit is 2-0.

Genesee Region All Stars: L to R: Volleyball – Liz Geandreau ’11 and Brittany Morelli ’09; Cross Country – Ashley Calarco ’09 [4^th straight year!] and Jill Marshall ’09. Jill also earned a Sectional patch for a 7^th place finish in this year’s Section V Class D meet in this her first year of Cross Country competition!

Nicole Mickey ’09 represented ND on the Genesee Region team vs. the Livingston County II team at Cal-Mum on Sunday, 11-9-08 in the Exceptional Senior Soccer game.

2008 GR League All Star selections from ND - L to R: Rick Lair ’09 [Lineman], Matt Thompson ‘10 [Kicker], Kevin Francis ’09 [Receiver] Craig Houseknecht ’09 [Lineman].

2008 Section V Class D Individual Awards earned during the 11-1-08 Class D Final Football game vs. Dundee – L to R: Justin Shenck ’09 [Sportsmanship Award], Rick Lair ’09 [Outstanding Offensive Lineman] and Craig Houseknecht ’09 [Outstanding Defensive Lineman].

Notre Dame High School will present its annual Holiday Pops dinner and concert on Sunday, December 7, 2008.

 When you look at the Notre Dame roster, the name Kevin Francis easily stands out.

The senior point guard has been one of the top players in the Genesee Region League over the last two seasons and was a GR all-star last year, pouring in 16.5 points with 5.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 5.1 steals per game. He dropped in 18 3-pointers.

There is no question that he is going to be the leader on the off the floor.

He had an established, solid supporting cast last season as the Fighting Irish, and the squad went 18-5 and earned the top seed in the Section 5 Class DD playoffs. ND ran into Elba in the semifinals and the Lancers came from 12 points back and sprung a 64-58 upset.

But gone are the likes of Christian Bochicchio, Joe Pawlak, Pat Mancuso and Mark Fanton. Instead, a strong group of youngsters will be taking the court to support Francis and try and get ND a sectional title.

There aren't a lot of returning scorers and you can expect junior Matt Thompson and sophomore Vinny Zambito to be major factors on the offensive end. Thompson is a pure shooter and Zambito is a scoring machine that led the jayvee squad a year ago.

Senior guard Kevin Schildwaster will also look to score. Backing up Francis will be junior Nick Bochicchio, who played quarterback on the football team and has the ability to lead things on the court when Francis needs a rest.

While Fanton was a true big-man for the Fighting Irish last year, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 215 pounds, Notre Dame doesn't have anybody that can match his size.

But they might even be more physical in the paint.

Tommy Rapone is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and very athletic for a big man. The junior will get a lot of playing time and try to keep a good group of big men in the GR out of the paint. His main focus will be defense and rebounding, but he also has the potential to score points when needed,

Senior Rick Lair is also 6-2 and weighs 185 pounds, but is a strong player that was a solid player on the football team. Senior Nick Weatherwax is the biggest player on the squad at 6-3 and is also physical.

A lot was made out of coach Mike Rapone's 500th victory last season, rightfully so, but this group doesn't have the pressure of trying to win that game for the legendary coach. 

Rapone became just the third coach in Section 5 history to get to the 500 win plateau (Jim Burke of Prattsburgh won No. 500 in the season opener this year) when Notre Dame beat Kendall midway through the season.

His current record is 509-133 and he is chasing Ed Nietopski of Bishop Kearney and Cardinal Mooney, who is the all-time leader with 545 victories. He has an outside chance of catching Scio legend Roger Bigby this season, as he ended his career with 527 wins.

In 29 years, Rapone has won 26 division titles, seven Section 5 titles, four Far West Regional championships and two state titles, with the last coming in 2001.

Rapone usually gets the most out of what he has, and this year's version of the Fighting Irish have a lot of talent. It is only a matter of getting the young players to mesh with the veterans and contribute with scoring.

 The Notre Dame hockey team had both offense and solid goalkeeping to start the season off with a 5-1 win over Bishop Kearney/Eastridge.

Ivan Madaferi, Jason Harasimowicz and Dylan Versage had a goal and an assist each with Jack Nenni and Sean Kota adding a gal apiece.

Thomas Dehr had 15 saves in net.

Riley Austin had the lone goal for the Kings (0-2).

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The Pembroke boys basketball team evened up at 1-1 in getting a huge performance by Andy Gabbey.

The guard drained nine 3-pointers to score a game-high 32 points as the Dragons thumped Williamson 64-46.

Andrew Wright scored 13 points and Ken Babcock pitched in 11.

Caleb Burlee scored 20 points for Williamson (0-2).

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The Blue Devils trailed by 18 points at one point, but cut the deficit to six points with just over a minute left and went on to beat Warsaw 54-46 in the consolation game of the Warsaw Tournament.

Tate Westermeier had 15 points and Matt Sheffield added 11 for Attica (1-1)..

Holden Case had 14 points and seven boards for Warsaw (0-2).

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Livonia jumped out to a 34-10 halftime lead and rolled to a 71-25 thumping of Alexander in the consolation game of the Alexander tournament.

Ryan Metz outscored the Trojans on his own, pouring in 14 of his game-high 26 points in the first half for Livonia (1-1).

Jared Quinn and Troy Shelnut had five points apiece for the Trojans (0-2).

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Wheatland-Chili won all four quarters, including a 20-4 run in the third quarter en route to a 65-36 victory over West Seneca in the consolation game of the Northstar Tournament.

Ricky Agosto (14 points), Andy Lund (13), Garhett Varin (12) and Evan Price (11) were all in double figures for the Wildcats, who improve to 1-1. Lund had 11 rebounds and Agosto added six.

Dylan Patterson had 17 points for West Seneca, out of Section 6.

Prattsburgh coaching legend Jim Burke knew victory No. 500 was going to come at a point, probably sooner than later.

His Viking squad overcame a tough Whitesville squad and got their coach that historic win with a 57-48 victory Friday night in the opening round of the Honeoye Holiday Classic.

"One reason why we are happy is that it puts us in the championship game tomorrow," said Burke, who now has a career record of 500-155. That was in the front of our minds. It was awesome because there were so many people here from Prattsburgh and there was a (celebration) afterwards. It was pretty awesome."

Whitesville only has eight players on the roster, but gave Prattsburgh everything they could handle, and the Vikings needed a big third quarter run to pull out the victory.

Burke and his team ended last season with a loss to Northstar Christian in the Class D finals, leaving him one win short of the milestone.

"What bothered us most last year was losing, not, not getting 500," said Burke, who is good friends with Notre Dame coach Mike Rapone, and even beat him when Rapone was at win No. 499 last season. "If you come back, you know you will win one more. It was tough for the kids with the great work ethic last year that didn't get a patch. That was the worst part of it."

When you have 500 wins, you have a lot of career highlights. Burke lists his top highlight as the 1991 season, when the Vikings went 29-0 and won the state title.

Prattsburgh will be playing Honeoye in tomorrow's championship game. Honeoye beat Genesee Valley 52-50 in the opening round.

"The weight is gone, especially for the kids" Burke said. "They had a card made up and everything before the game, so you know it was on their minds. It wasn't just the kids, but the community. They feel it and were talking about it. I'm so glad to get it off our shoulders so we can just go play."

Burke is not ready to commit to another year after this one, but if this is it would go out as one of the top coaches in Section 5 history.

"I will probably have some thinking to do over the summer," Burke said. "But it is getting close to the end. I'll know at the end of the season. There are a lot of factors involved."

 The Democrat & Chronicle released its preview capsules for Section 5 hockey teams, including Batavia and Notre Dame. They can be read here. 

Notre Dame junior Stephanie Lapple has been named to the All-Greater Rochester team by the Democrat & Chronicle.  

Lapple had the lowest scoring average in Section 5 this past fall, averaging 39.75 during eight golf matches. She tied for sixth at sectionals with a 90, earning a trip to states. She also won the City-Catholic qualifier with a 42.

The boys basketball season will be getting started this weekend and opening day could be a historic one for one of Notre Dame's Section 5 rivals.

Prattsburgh will be playing Whitesville and coach Jim Burke could join Notre Dame coach Mike Rapone in the 500 win club if the Vikings pick up a victory.

The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and you won't even have to leave the house to keep up with potential history. The game will be broadcast on WABH 1380 AM and locally it can be heard on the net at www.localsportsedge.com.

 Last season was a down year for the Notre Dame girls basketball team.

The program was going through a transition year and went 15-7, getting knocked out of the sectional playoffs in the quarterfinals - to rival Elba.

That loss hurt. And the four returning starters from that team are going to remember one of the earliest sectional losses the Fighting Irish have had in a long time when the season starts.

There is no reason to believe Notre Dame can't be one of the top teams in the Genesee Region League and make a serious run at a sectional title this season. The returning starters, a key addition and some solid depth gives ND a ton of hope.

Tri-captains Trisha Pike, Nichole Hart and Brittany Morelli all started last season and can get the job done.

Hart was the second scoring option for ND last season and Pike is a natural point guard with the ability to score as well. The two work very well together in the backcourt.

Morelli and Liz Geandreau showed their potential last season and will have to make up for the graduation of Charlie Scott-McGrail, who scored 13 points with 10 rebounds per game a year ago.

Coach Dave Pero got a nice surprise this season when Jill Marshall transfered from Elba to Notre Dame. The switch from one rival to another could make a huge impact on this season.

Marshall scored 10 points and had seven rebounds per game for the Lancers last season and was named to the Genesee Region League all-star squad. 

The Fighting Irish also have plenty of solid reserves coming off the bench and shouldn't have a problem spelling starters when they need a rest.

Pero expects the GR to be strong again this year, but the highlight games are always between Elba and Notre Dame. Those games are on Dec. 16 and Feb. 10, with a third probably in the sectional playoffs.

It’s been just about a year since members of Miss Betsey Bodine's ND Environmental Awareness Club started actively filling up the large, green and yellow Abitibi recycling container which is located in the parking lot behind Notre Dame! Who says every little piece of paper doesn't add up!

Members of the ND family -faculty and staff, students, parents and friends of ND - can be proud of the fact that 25.27 tons - yes, tons!!! - of paper have been recycled during the past year through our Abitibi!

Congratulations on a job well done and keep up the good work!

Please pass the word . . . you do not have to be a member of the ND family to recycle in our recycling bin! Please encourage your friends, neighbors and relatives to use our Abitibi for recycling their papers and magazines and join us in our attempt to keep our campus - and our little bit of the world - GREEN!

Picture caption:  Student recyclers pose next to the Abitibi pickup truck on Friday, October 3, 2008. (L to R):  Haley Alexander '10, Alex Sandra Morgan '10, Sidney Moag '11, Sophia DelPlato '11 and Paul Teresi '11.

Item submitted by Notre Dame.

Elizabeth Fischer, daughter of Michael and Mary Anne Fischer of Medina, and a member of the ND Class of 2009 has been designated a Commended Student in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.  Commended students are recognized for having demonstrated outstanding academic potential by their strong performance on the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) which our current Juniors and Seniors took last October.  Our current Sophomores and Juniors will take the 2008 version of the NMSQT on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. 

Beth’s high Selection Index score on the PSAT exam last October places her among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students in over 21,000 high schools who entered the 2009 competition.  Commended students are named on the basis of a national selection index of 200 which is applicable to all participants, without regard to state-by-state distribution.

A member in good standing of the ND Chapter of the National Honor Society since her Sophomore year, Beth has earned High Honor roll status in each quarter of her ND career, as well as highest average recognition in Biology and Global Studies 9 (2005-2006); Chemistry, Math 10, and Global 10 (2006-2007), and Physics, Math 11, AP US History, Spanish III and Theology (2007-2008).  She has also been an active member of the ND Student Senate, Science Club, and Mission Club and also currently serves as a morning PA announcer.

Beth is also very active in her parish (Holy Family) where she serves as a lector, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and altar server.

Beth plans on pursuing a career in Biomedical Engineering and lists Cornell University, RIT, and Roberts Wesleyan as possible college choices. She will receive recognition for her Commended Student achievement at Notre Dame’s annual end-of-the-year Celebration of Gifts and Talent in May 2009.

Congratulations, Beth on this noteworthy achievement!

Information submitted by Notre Dame

This year's ND graduating class stands forty-two strong. Thirteen members of the Class of 2009 were commissioned as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at our Opening Day Mass on Friday, September 5, 2008. Father Michael Rock, OdeM., Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Le Roy, New York and a member of the ND Board of Trustees, performed the commissioning ceremony as part of the first mass of the year at ND.

Eleven of the students were trained at ND last spring by Deacon Tom Casey.  The remaining two were trained at their parish.  We look forward to their service to our community.

Caption:  L to R – Row #1: Henri Burdett, Eric Shormann, Melissa Smith, Brad Cohen, Kristen Francis and Beth Fischer

L to R – Row #2:  Craig Houseknecht, Stacy Squire, Paige Scofield, Kate Spadaccia, Matt Jackson, Ashley Calarco, Sean Zawicki

Information submitted by Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Volleyball Teams are fundraising to defray costs for Notre Dame students who will be participating in this year’s missionary experience to Camden, New Jersey.  The girls have been bicycling in the “Ride for Camden” effort for the last couple of weeks.  Each girl is riding fifty miles and asking for sponsorships per mile.  If anyone would like to sponsor one of these athletes please contact Rhonda DiCasolo, Carolyn Babcock, or any of the Notre Dame volleyball players.  Pledges from a penny to a dollar per mile are welcome as are donations in any amount.  We hope to provide an opportunity for more Notre Dame students to attend the life-altering experience of a week at Camden’s Romero Center.  Our trips in the past have always had such a tremendous impact on our students and staff.  Thank you to all who have already sponsored a volleyball player.

Notre Dame boys basketball coach Mike Rapone and Prattsburgh coach Jim Burke have had some great battles over the years. Burke won a regular season contest between the two squads last season, making Rapone wait another game before getting his 500th career victory as a boys basketball coach.

Rapone beat Burke to the 500-win plateau as Burke is still sitting at 499 career victories heading into this season. But Burke beat Rapone to the Section 5 Hall of Fame and will be inducted on Saturday at the Clarion Riverside Hotel in Rochester.

Burke's daughter, Jamie, will also be inducted at the ceremony as well as NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is a Brockport native.

Here is the description given on Burke at the Section 5 Web site.

.. This coaching icon has been a model of success in both boy’s and girl’s basketball. Jim has amassed 676 wins (499 boys, 177 girls) and has directed Prattsbugh Central to 6 Boys and 4 Girls Section V titles. His 1991 Boys team netted the NY State championship with an unblemished 29-0 record. He was honored by the Rochester D&C in 1991 as their AGR “Coach of the Year.” Coach Burke is also a member of the New York State Basketball Coaches and Wayland-Cohocton Halls of Fame.

 In Monday's Daily News, The Sports Staff writes that Notre Dame's boys cross country team took third in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships at Sunken Meadow State Park.

ND finished just a point behind second-place Barker.

Kevin Palwak finished in 18:05 to lead the way for the Fighting Irish, taking 18th. Quin O'Connor was injured during the race and finished 24th.

"Quin has been our top runner and was expected to finish in the top 10," ND coach Eric Geitner told The Daily News.

Oakfield-Alabama's Kevin Grazioplene was the top finisher of all local runners, taking eighth in 17:35.

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Also in the edition was Batavia's Helen Zickl taking fifth in the Class B Section 5 Diving Championships over the weekend.

The 8th grader had a score of 304.95 points. The Section 5 Swimming Championships are later this week, with the finals on Friday, in Webster.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.