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9 Named To Showcase Squad

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY

nmurray@tampatrib.com

Published: January 28, 2009

BRANDON - Four Newsome High hockey players led a group of nine local players who were named to the Florida All-Star team that will compete at this year's Chicago Showcase in April.

Newsome's Mike Semago and Scott Vargas made the team for a second straight year. They will be joined by teammates Josh Revoy and Michael Shurtleff, making the Newsome contingent the largest of any school in the state.

Other local players named to the roster were Joe Loicano of River Ridge, Brad Martin of Bloomingdale, Steve O'Neil of East Lake, Paul Roefaro of Countryside and Shane Reger of Lakeland Jenkins.

Semago said he was thrilled to have been named to the squad for a second time.

"I was kind of scared I wasn't going to make it again," Semago said. "The competition got better this year. But I was excited when I found out I'd made it."

Martin, a goaltender, said he was pleased with the way he performed at the tryouts.

"I was very excited," Martin said. "It means a lot to have guys start to step it up and get better. It shows a lot to how good hockey is in Florida."

The Showcase allows players to compete in front of junior and college hockey coaches. Semago said the biggest difference between typical club or high school hockey is the speed, which thanks to the caliber of competition at the event is cranked way up.

"It's all about the flow and the passing," Semago said. "It's not really about the hitting, it's about the speed. It's really about the passing and connecting with your linemates."

Shurtleff said his teammates had already shared their knowledge of the event, and what he should expect when the team travels north.

"They told me it's a lot faster than down here, and you've got to keep your head up," Shurtleff said with a smile. He and his teammates think it's a sign of the state of the Wolves program that four players made this year's roster.

"I think it's really a testament to how this team has developed," Shurtleff said. "We're the strongest we've ever been right now."

"It's great for Newsome hockey," Vargas added. "I think we might be the only school to have four players going. I'm not sure if any other team has done that, ever."

Barbarians Rugby Looking Strong

TAMPA - The Tampa Barbarians racked up six first-half tries on their way to an easy 48-3 victory against Winter Park on Saturday to earn their second consecutive win in the Florida Rugby Under-19 North Division.

Prop forward Ben Nakamura scored twice in the first 15 minutes to lead the Barbarians early as their pack allowed Tampa to control to pace and flow of the game.

"We have a strong, strong pack," Barbarians coach Mark Van Trees said. "All the first scores were just drives off the rucks and the mauls. They're good strong kids."

Facing inexperience opposition, the Barbarians also played a more expansive brand of rugby than in their opening win against Brevard, as inside-center Alfonso Guererro and outside-center Jordan Worlds used incisive runs to create breaks to gain territory and set up attacking situations.

Guerrero scored the Barbarians second try, and fellow-backs Phil Dahlstrom and Geno Fitzpatrick also scored.

"Guerrero and Worlds played great, I'm glad to have them as teammates," Fitzpatrick said. "We still have some kinks to work out, but once we smooth everything over, we'll be good to go. We're pretty happy about the result, and we're only getting better."

Van Trees said he placed an emphasis on getting the ball into the hands of his backs leading into this game after the forwards had controlled the bulk of the play in the opening week.

Fitzpatrick said that was music to the backs' ears.

"We've always told them we have a great group of backs," Fitzpatrick said. "If we get the ball, we're going to score. We did that and put up plenty of points today to make the margin of victory good."

Hancock, Newell Win FJT Titles

Taylor Hancock of Clearwater and AJ Newell of Tampa each took victory in the Florida Junior Golf Tour's under-15 event at Gainesville Country Club last week.

Hancock won his first FJT event with a pair of even-par rounds of 72. Despite high winds and low temperatures during the tournament's second round, Hancock was unfazed, controlling his ball-flight in the gusty conditions and getting up-and-down when neccesary.

"With these conditions I knew it was important to hit the ball low and I did a great job of controlling my ball flight," Hancock said. "I also did a great job scrambling. I was making all my putts inside 10 feet all day."

Hancock won by four shots from Trey Valentine from Melbourne, with Josh Lee of Orange Park four shots back.

Newell won her third FJT title by nine strokes from Irene Jung of Jacksonville with a two-round total of 146, 2 over-par.

Despite not hitting the ball well from tee to green, Newell was able to keep her score low thanks to her short game.

"I didn't make good contact this weekend, but I putted and chipped great," Newell said."I was getting up-and-down from all over the place."

Madison Opfer of Plant City, who won the major event at Hunter's Green in November, didn't fare as well in the harsh conditions, and finished in ninth place with a total of 166. She remains second in the under-15 division points race behind Cindy Feng of Orlando.

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243. Keyword: Youth Sports, for more news and notes.

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