GCC Athletics Media Release
Written by WBTA STAFF on April 21, 2018
GCC’s Jordan Brennan (with ball) the top goal scorer against No. 10 Tompkins-Cortland Community College
Press Release:
Battle of Top-10 Men’s Lacrosse Teams Goes to Cougars
Playing in wintry conditions that included snowfall, the Genesee Community College men’s lacrosse team traveled to No. 10 Tompkins-Cortland Community College April 19 and returned with a 23-5 win.
It took the Cougars about three minutes to establish a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on their way to their ninth victory of the season.
Genesee dominated in all aspects of the game including shots, shots on net and groundballs.
In the latter category, Andrew Forte led with 12 of his team’s 49 groundballs, many the byproduct of his 13 faceoff wins from 16 attempts. In all, 19 different Cougars recorded at least one groundball with four Genesee players getting three or more that included Jason Chiodo (five), Mat Anderson (four), Henry Reber (three) and of course Forte.
Not far behind Forte in winning faceoff percentage was Brad Hejmanowski, who went 9-of-13 from the circle. Garret Lazore, Lincoln Potter and Troi Benedict all split time in goal with each recording a pair of saves.
Current Cougar Male Athlete of the Week Jordan Brennan led the offensive attack with team-highs in shots (nine), shots on net (seven) and goals (six).
Kevin McParlene was not far behind Brennan in goals with five, and led the Cougars in points with nine. Behind McParlene in points was Chiodo with seven from four goals and three assists.
Tyler Thompson and Alex Mack each recorded hat tricks with three goals apiece, while single tallies came from Zach Wade and Patrick Bilbrey.
John Faynor (seated far left) and twin brother Jayson (center seated) commit to GCC baseball from Lima Christian
Cougar Baseball Team Looking to Give Opponents Double Trouble Next Season with Signing
Genesee Community College head baseball coach Skip Sherman gave new meaning to the terms “twin bill” and “doubleheader” that often refer to baseball and rarely refer to both individuals and the sport.
Sherman signed two of the most competitive siblings in the area from Lima Christian High School with twin brothers Jayson and John Faynor ready to suit up for the Cougars in the fall of 2018.
Jayson is a two-time Section V Player-of-the-Year private parochial school player, who’s resume includes a Class D championship (2017), a first-team all-state selection (2017), a second-team all-state selection (2016), and a first-team private parochial selection (2015).
John is a fourth-team all-state selection (2017), and a three-time private parochial first or second teamer for the last three years (2015-17), in addition to also being a member of that same 2017 Class D championship team.
The pair combined last season for 70 hits, 62 runs and 51 RBI for Lima Christian and some onlookers saw less similarity in the duo’s baseball numbers than their appearance last season.
While John was plus-four in hits over Jayson at 37-33, and another plus-four over Jayson in runs scored at 33-29, Jayson had 15 more RBI than John at 33-18. Their batting averages were also almost identical with John batting .487 to Jayson’s .471.
Sometimes the only way to know how to distinguish the pair for sure is to watch them write (sign, see photo) with Jayson being a right-hander and John a southpaw.
Both have seen action from the bump, but Jayson has also excelled at shortstop while John also at catcher. Sherman said the pair have had the best coach possible at the high-school level where baseball followed them to the diamond and to their home with John Sr. at the helm.
Bri Heers scored for GCC in the final minute with an end to end rush against No. 1 Monroe
Women’s Lacrosse Team Prepares for Regionals in Final Home Game
The Genesee Community College women’s lacrosse team knew they had a tough task in front of them against the top team in the National Junior College Athletic Association April 18.
The No. 1 Monroe Community College women’s lacrosse team kept their perfect record intact in moving to 7-0, but it was the spirited play of the Cougars in the second half that impressed most.
A never-give-up mindset in the second half produced a pair Genesee goals. The Tribunes out-scored the Cougars by seven goals during the final 30 minutes as Genesee looked like a rejuvenated team in the second. In all of Monroe’s impressive wins this season that propelled them to No. 1, only three teams have scored more than a pair of goals in any half against them.
Bri Heers ended the game’s scoring with a brilliant rush that encompassed most of the playing field. Kali Wright set the tone early in the second by scoring on an elusive ground shot. The Cougars scored on two of their three second-half shots with a scoring percentage of 67 percent.
Monroe got eight of its 25 on free-position shots and barely beat the Cougars in the groundball game at 31-28. Molly Barden and Allison Duhow recorded 11 of those 28 with the former corralling six and the latter five. Three groundballs each came from Julie Kommer, Rachel Ladd, and Wright.
Current NJCAA Region-III Female Athlete of the Week and current Cougar Female Athlete of the Week Sara Zakes had seven more saves than either of the two Monroe goalies, who split time in the contest.
GCC Athletics Players of the Week Sara Zakes and Jordan Brennan
Cougar Athletes of the Week Announced
The Genesee Community College’s athletes of the week for the period ending April 15 are Sara Zakes (Oakfield, NY) from the women’s lacrosse team and Jordan Brennan (Gowanda, NY) from the men’s lacrosse team.
Zakes had an amazing 74 percent save percentage while allowing an average of just five goals-against per-game in a pair of lacrosse contests last week. First, she kept her team in the game with the lead for most of the contest against a quality team that Genesee will be joining in the upcoming regional Final Four and her performance against the Kats had her with a double-digit edge in saves over her counterpart with 25 saves from 33 shots April 11. In her second outing of the week, Zakes stopped four of six shots against North Country with one of the Saints’ goals coming off a free position shot April 14. The win advanced Genesee to the Region-III Final Four and surpassed the team’s win total from a season ago. Overall she stopped 29 of 39 shots for the week. Zakes also captured the NJCAA Region-III Athlete of the Week for her efforts.
Brennan led the No. 3 Cougars in points in both of their contests last week. Overall, the sophomore registered 18 points from eight goals and 10 assists. Against Broome, he led the team in points with eight, led the team in assists with four, and co-led the team in goals with four. The midfielder then led the team in points with 10 against Finger Lakes Community College and in the process led the team in assists with six against, while accumulating another four-goal performance. In the two contests, Brennan also collected six groundballs to go with his 18 points.
Mark Jagord
GCC Sports Information
