Monday, April 17, 2017: Girls dominate the roster on Corinth boys team

   Leading off today: It's understandable that the Corinth boys tennis team is on the receiving end of some puzzled looks when it shows up for Section 2 matches this spring.

   That's bound to happen when 13 of the 16 players on your squad are girls.

   "We'll get off the bus and the other teams, they're like, "Wow, mostly girls?'" Tomahawks senior Ethan Millis, a four-year varsity player, told The Daily Gazette. "Most teams have two or three (girls), but not the majority of them."

   In fact, the 83 of the 1,031 Section 2 roster spots in the sport (modified through varsity levels) last spring were held down by girls. The statewide total for NYSPHSAA schools was 450. A girl has the option to go out for tennis in the spring under NYSPHSAA rules provided she did not already compete during the fall season.

   "I've never seen anything like that," said former Shaker AD Ed Dopp, the incoming executive director of the section. "Usually, it's a girl or two."

   The Adirondack League does not offer girls' tennis in the fall, though schools can play as independents if they choose. Corinth has opted not to participate. With volleyball, cross country and a fledgling soccer team already options, it would be tough to sustain another fall program for girls at a school with a BEDS figure of just 280.

   Sean Barber and Millis are holding down the top singles spots for Corinth, with girls filling out the rest of its starting lineup.

   That's the way it worked out with who came out for the team," Corinth coach Scott Sprague said. "The last couple of years we've had a lot of girls with this core group coming through the program, but that hasn't always been the case. Before that it was mostly boys, and looking at the makeup of our modified team, I'm thinking it will be again in the near future."

   On the move: Antwoine Anderson, a key cog as Rochester's Bishop Kearney clawed its way to the 2013 NYSPHSAA boys Class AA basketball championship, is on the move from Fordham to UConn as a graduate transfer.

   The 6-foot-1 guard will be eligible immediately for his final NCAA season. Anderson averaged 11.1 points and 3.2 assists this season and is regarded as an above-average defender. He'll help cushion the blow after top-rated recruit Makai Ashton-Langford flipped his commitment from UConn to Providence last month.

   Following up: As expected, the NCAA did give approval last week to a rule shutting down contact between college coaches and prospective recruits before Sept. 1 of a player's junior year.

   The proposal had widespread support from college coaches and by US Lacrosse, the sport's governing body.

   "While no legislation is perfect, this decision represents a significant shift toward the best interests of young prospective student-athletes, their parents and the culture of our sport," US Lacrosse CEO Steve Stenersen said in a statement.

   The rule change doesn't end the possibility of players making pledges before the start of their junior year, but it seems logical that fewer eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders will more in that direction now.

   Looking back: This is the 40th anniversary season of state rankings in boys lacrosse compiled by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   The addition to NYSSWA offerings in our weekly newsletters was made in anticipation of th New York State Public High Athletic Association conducting its first championship in the sport later that spring.

   To show how far boys lacrosse has come, we've evolved from a single tournament class in 1977 (it expanded to two in 1986 and three in 2000) to four classes beginning this season.

   For the curious, Neil Kerr dug back through his binders of newsletters and found what the rankings looked like exactly 40 years ago today:

 1. Elmont-8                          8-0
 2. Copiague-11                       5-0
 3. Deer Park-11                      7-0
 4. Ward Melville-11                  6-1
 5. Sewanhaka-8                       7-1
 6. West Genesee-3                    4-0
 7. Brentwood Sonderling-11           5-0
 8. Irondequoit-5                     3-0
 9. Comsewogue-11                     7-1
10. Oceanside-8                       6-1
11. Uniondale-8                       4-1
12. Corning East-5                    3-0
13. Farmingdale-8                     6-2
14. Jamesville-DeWitt-3               5-0
15. Smithtown West-11                 5-1
16. Massapequa-8                      6-2
17. West Islip-11                     4-2
18. Rye-1                             5-0
19. Lafayette-3                       4-0
20. East Syracuse-Minoa-3             3-0
20. Ithaca-4                          4-0

   To the surprise of no one, Neil (with an assist from the late Tad Matylewich of Newsday) knew what he was doing by ranking Elmont at No. 1. That school went on to beat Ward Melville 12-11 for the first NYSPHSAA championship.

   Breaking through the glass uprights: Chandler (Ariz.) Basha High senior Becca Longo may be the first female to sign a football letter of intent for NCAA Division I or II.

   At a signing ceremony Wednesday, the 5-foot-11 kicker accepted a scholarship from Division II Adams State in Alamosa, Colo.

   "It was like recruiting any other athlete," Adams head Timm Rosenback said. "In Division II, we can see their workouts. To me, there is no doubt she can be competitive. She has a strong leg and she can be very accurate."

   Longo made 30 of 33 extra-point attempts last fall.

   Whoops: A report out of California says San Diego County schools have spent millions of dollars for synthetic turf that is falling apart now for the second time.

   The Voice of San Diego reported last week that FieldTurf charged schools thousands of dollars to upgrade to a superior product, called Revolution, that began failing within two to three years despite carrying an eight-year warranty.    Revolution turf installations range in price from $400,000 and $900,000, the web site reported.

   FieldTurf officials attributed the issue to the breakdown of a polyurethane backing due to a manufacturing issue. Though it has replaced some fields, FieldTurf is attempting to salvage other projects by applying a thousand-gallon coating of glue in a process that takes about a week per field.