All-WNY lacrosse squad has four Quakers
It would be understandable if Orchard Park felt a little void following a lacrosse season in which it lost in the state final. But it doesn't.
OP was bidding to become the first team from Section VI to win a state crown and in the process duplicate what its football team did last fall. Instead, it lost in the Class A championship to West Islip, 10-5.
"We thought we had an incredible season. Our guys played great in both sports. In lacrosse we almost did the impossible, we beat some good teams," said Gene Tundo, who coaches both sports.
On the way to a 21-2 season, the Quakers beat eventual Class B state champion V-Canandaigua, Dulaney (Md.), Manheim Township (Pa.) and IV-Ithaca, which stunned West Genesee.
For their efforts, the Quakers landed four selections on the 2009 All-Western New York team: senior Jeff Tundo, junior Gary Davies, senior Artie Marrapese and senior Mike Moran. The 13-man team was chosen by a panel of area coaches.
Tundo, Moran and Davies were also members of OP's state championship football team.
The Quakers won their first 13 games in lacrosse before a 12-9 loss at Corning East. They also won the Section VI title for the 15th straight year. The team finished ranked No. 10 in the East region by laxpower.com.
Tundo was named a US Lacrosse All-American for the second year in a row. Today, he'll play on national television (ESPNU) in the fourth annual Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic at Towson University in Maryland.
Tundo led WNY in scoring in both football and lacrosse. In football he had 210 points (35 touchdowns) and in lacrosse 144 points (80 goals, 64 assists). He's a repeat All-WNY pick along with Ethan Murphy of West Seneca East and Clay DelPrince of Frontier.
The only other school with more than one All-WNY pick was Hamburg, which landed sophomore Eric Chadderdon, junior Ryan Feuerstein and senior Matt Springer.
"Those three kids are so dedicated to their sport. They are really special people, amazing lacrosse athletes and good students," said coach Jerry Severino.
The Bulldogs (18-3) won their third straight Section VI title before falling to Canandaigua in the Far West Regionals.
The defensive-minded Bulldogs recorded impressive nonleague wins over III-Carthage, V-Webster-Schroeder and the Highland School (Va.).
College careers await
Ethan Murphy walked off the field at Sahlen's Sports Park as an eighth-grader and told his father, "I love this game, I just have to learn to play it."
Not only did the West Seneca East senior prove to be a quick study, he landed a NCAA Division I full tuition scholarship to UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County). UMBC made its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Murphy had other offers from Drexel, West Point, Stony Brook and Binghamton.
"I chose this one because it was the best offer and they were the best-ranked and they probably have the best up-and-coming program," said Murphy. "I'm going to Maryland where the weather is a little nicer, which is a big appeal for me."
All eight All-WNY seniors are planning to play in college: Murphy, UMBC; Tundo, Ohio State; DelPrince, Brown; Marrapese, Saint Joseph's; Ryan Wagner, Le Moyne; Moran, Monroe CC; Pierce Abrams, Syracuse and Springer, Binghamton.
Abrams will play for the NCAA Division I champions at Syracuse. He has accepted the Haudenosaunee (meaning People of the Longhouse, the name the Iroquois call themselves) Promise Scholarship to Syracuse. Abrams had the bloodlines to make it at SU. His uncle, Marshall, was an All-American for the Orange from 1998 to 2000.
A junior, Gary Davies of Orchard Park, has verbally committed to Fairfield.
Around the cages
OP finished ranked second in the New York State Sportswriters rankings in Class A while Hamburg was seventh in Class B. Silver Creek was an honorable mention in Class C. ... The WNY champions for 2009 were: Orchard Park (Class A), Hamburg (Class B), Silver Creek (Class C) and Canisius of the Monsignor Martin Association.
A junior, Pat McMahon of Sweet Home, landed the highly-competitive goalkeeper spot on All-WNY. McMahon led the Panthers to the Sectional finals. In the game against Hamburg he had 14 saves in the first half. "He's just quick in the goal, he sees the ball well and is a threat to come out of the cage," said coach John Faller. ... Marrapese of Orchard Park and Wagner of Canisius were also named All-WNY in hockey. ... Two sophomores on the team were Chadderdon (Hamburg) and Brian Sullivan (Bishop Timon-St. Jude).
Honors
• Sharing US Lacrosse All-America honors with Tundo were: Murphy of West Seneca East, DelPrince of Frontier, Springer of Hamburg, Abrams of Niagara-Wheatfield and Marrapese of Orchard Park.
• This year's Coach of the Year was Gene Tundo of Orchard Park. His 455 career wins rank him among the top 10 in the state. Larry Catalano of the Quakers was named Assistant Coach of the Year. The Man of the Year was the late Tom Borrelli of The Buffalo News, who had a passion for lacrosse at all levels.
• Tundo wasn't the only athlete recognized by Under Armour. Named to the Upstate New York Underclassmen team were: Chadderdon (Hamburg), Davies (Orchard Park), Chris Kane and Sullivan of Bishop Timon-St. Jude.
• This year's Academic All-Americans were senior midfielders Derek Roberts of Medina and Adam Meier of Akron. Roberts, ranked No. 3 in his class, is going to RPI to study engineering. Meier will attend Bucknell.
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