Talk Bronx New York

It isn’t much of a secret, at least not to coach Tricia Palotti. She knows her Bayside girls’ volleyball team has a tendency to play to the level of its opponent. She saw its bad side in a two-set loss against middling PSAL Queens 6-A opponent Townsend Harris on Oct. 15.

“We definitely shouldn’t have lost,” Palotti said.

But when the Commodores are playing against high level of competition, they’re quite formidable. On Sunday, they were very good. Bayside beat Kennedy, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, in the final of JFK’s host tournament in the Bronx. Kennedy was ranked No. 2 in the PSAL in last week’s FiveBoroSports.com top 10.

The Commodores had two second-place finishes in tournaments this season: one at Cardozo and the other at the first Seward Park tourney.

“They were tired of coming in second place,” Palotti said with a laugh.

Bayside, which is 6-3 in Queens 6-A, swept Kennedy and Hillcrest in pool play and defeated Lehman in the tournament’s semifinals.

“They played a very consistent game,” JFK coach Iris Bromfield. Read more..

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Bronx Science’s Gregory Barber is undoubtedly the best PSAL bowler in the borough. The sophomore has averaged a respectable 183.71 pins per game while leading the Wolverines to a 7-1 record and first place in Bronx II.

Barber began bowling in a league in Queens at age 5; he has his own ball and a private coach, and he entered the week ranked 39th among boys in the PSAL.

But in the Bronx, Gregory Barber is an anomaly.

The borough’s teams have failed to reach the third round of the PSAL playoffs for the past five seasons. The second highest–ranked bowler in the Bronx is Wolverines co-captain Matt Dunay, who averages 171.60 pins per game, good for 83rd in the city. Bronx Science ranks 26th overall in the PSAL. The next-best Bronx squad is Taft, ranked No. 41 before games this week.

Such numbers raise an obvious question: Why is the Bronx stuck in a perpetual traffic jam on the lanes, so many miles behind Staten Island powers Tottenville, McKee/SI Tech and Susan Wagner?

Why are they lagging so far behind Queens contenders Bayside (second) and Thomas Edison (fourth), and Brooklyn’s Goldstein (fourth), Fort Hamilton (seventh) and New Utrecht (eighth).

Barber pauses for a minute, when asked about the paucity of quality Bronx programs.

“I just think they have more money over there,” Barber said.

It’s a provocative thesis, and one of many possible explanations for Bronx bowling’s spot in the PSAL slow lane.

Queried during their matches at Ball Park Lanes on Tuesday, coaches and players alike mentioned economic factors, early exposure to the sport and ready access to the lanes as necessary ingredients for success. Read more..

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Wholesale changes this week. Six spots out of 10 change and we welcome two new teams – both from the Bronx – to our rankings. The picture is still very cloudy and some of that should clear up this week, especially Tuesday when Wagner plays MSIT and Lehman takes on Kennedy.

Here’s how they break down:

1. Francis Lewis (2-0) (Last week: 1)

The Patriots have been sitting pretty in first the last three weeks. Can anyone in Queens 6-A knock them off? Not very likely. But watch out for upstart Bayside, which will attempt to upend Francis Lewis at home Friday. The Commodores have stepped into the division’s No. 2 hole after winning last month’s Seward Park tournament and beating Cardozo last week.

2. John F. Kennedy (3-0) (3)

The Knights have an interesting claim to fame: they’re the last PSAL team to have beaten Francis Lewis. That win came in the 2006 championship match. If the early season is any indication, those two teams could meet again in this year’s final. Kennedy, which won last week’s Tottenville tournament after a final victory over Lehman, will play the Lions again Tuesday in a huge match-up in Bronx 1-A, perhaps the strongest division in the city.

3. Hunter College HS (2-0) (2)

Hunter is very balanced, led by setter Francesca Sosnowski, and the Hawks have had little trouble in their first two Manhattan 5-A matches. They also boast a tournament win over Stuyvesant. Hunter’s real first league test will come Tuesday when it plays second-place and fellow undefeated squad LaGuardia, which has a pretty good setter of its own: Hannah Cassius.

4. Stuyvesant (3-0) (4)

Seward Park gave Stuyvesant a tough time last week, but the Vixens prevailed led by middle hitter Alexandra Albright, libero Alice Zhang and setter Tina Khiani. This week, Stuy doesn’t play until Friday when it travels to Murry Bergtraum.

5. , (4-0) (9)

The PSAL’s biggest gainer this week. Wagner followed a strong performance in the Tottenville tournament with dominant wins in Staten Island 9-A last week. JFK coach Iris Bromfield, whose team beat the Falcons in a tough one at Tottenville, was impressed with coach Marco Altieri’s team, which is led by do-it-all junior Amanda Fiore. Wagner faces its biggest league test to date Tuesday: McKee/Staten Island Tech.

6. McKee/Staten Island Tech (3-0) (6)

The Seagulls are a spot under their Staten Island 9-A rivals courtesy of a loss to the Falcons in the Tottenville tournament. MSIT, which is led by junior Kristen Markoe, will have a chance to erase that in a big rematch Tuesday.

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