Vt. women sending solid contingent to N.E. Am
Toolbox
Published: July 3, 2009
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Vermont State Women's Golf Association will send a strong contingent of 13 players to the New England Championship next Tuesday through Thursday at Metacomet Country Club.
The campionship field consists of 108 of the best amateur players in New England. The competition is a 54-hole stroke play event with a cut to the low 70 players plus ties after 36 holes.
In addition to Reggie Parker, the following players are also entered from Vermont: Teo Poplawski of Champlain, Holly Reynolds of Copley, Catherine Shomo of Rutland, Morgan Deutsch of Mt. Snow, Keely Levins of Rutland, Sarah Carter Clunan of Quechee, Elizabeth Walker of Brattleboro, Patricia Haas of Killington, Shelly Yusko of Quechee, Tracy Sloan of Brattleboro, Kathy Allbright of Crown Point, and Alyssa Garabedian of Lake St. Catherine.
Poplawski is the 2008 Vermont Amateur Champion.
The tournament marks Reynolds' return to amateur golf after several years as a professional. Reynolds is a five-time Vermont Amateur champion and with her New England victory in 1992 became the first Vermonter to win the New Englands since Mae Murray Jones in 1962.
Metacomet is a Donald Ross-designed course established in 1901 overlooking Narragansett Bay and featuring rolling fairways and slick greens. The course will play to par 73 at 5,920 yards.
The top contenders in this year's field include defending champion Mary Chamberlain of Massachusetts, Alexa Rancourt of Maine, Chelsea Curtis, Kerri Connolly, Sarah Whitney, Wallace Hamerton, Lisa Anderson of Massachusetts, and Dana Harrity of New Hampshire.
Parker, who plays out of of Ekwanok, won the championship in 2004 at Rutland Country Club.
The first group will tee off at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Tee times and daily results will be available on the new New England Women's Golf Association website (www.newenglandwga.org) and on the VSWGA webiste, www.vswga.org. The NEWGA website will feature real-time scoring.
SHOW JUMPING
Benito wins at Vermont Summer Festival
In East Dorset, Annabel Benito of Westfield, N.J., scored a victory Thursday in the 1.20 meter jumper competition at the Vermont Summer Festival.
Benito successfully cleared the first round track set by FEI course designer Michel Vaillancourt of Canada. Advancing to the shortened jump-off course, Benito was the final challenger and knew exactly what she had to do. Leaving all the rails in place and stopping the clock in a time of 40.06 seconds, Benito's plan worked perfectly to claim the win riding VDL Las Vegas.
"It was wet out there, and I tried to gallop in between the jumps," said Benito, 26, assessing the jump-off course. "There were not a lot of inside turns, so I tried to make up time in between the fences."
Benito has been riding VDL Las Vegas, an eight-year-old grey mare, for the past two months. "She's the biggest sugar pie. She's a pet; she would crawl into your lap if she could. She likes carrots, but she does not like apples and she spits out mints."
With Benito taking the top spot, Emily Pope of Goldens Bridge, N.Y. settled for second with Seize the Moment, her 13-year-old chestnut thoroughbred mare. Jordan Santi of Alpharetta, Ga., placed third after incurring four faults in the jump-off with Insigna II while Kirsten Coe and her grey gelding, RSVP, were eliminated in the jump-off following two refusals.
Running through to Aug. 9, the festival is the largest "AA" rated hunter/jumper horse show in New England, as well as the richest sporting event based on purse in the state of Vermont offering more than $750,000 in prize money.
The first five Sundays at the Vermont Summer Festival feature a $30,000 Grand Prix, culminating with the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 9. The $10,000 Open Welcome Stake, held each Friday, is also a popular spectator event.
The Vermont Summer Festival operates daily from Wednesday through Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. and running until approximately 4 p.m. every day.
For more information about the Vermont Summer Festival, please e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com or visit www.vt-summerfestival.com.
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