Middle Atlantic

Cindy Davis of Owings Mills and Paula Wagasky, formerly of Odenton, are in the national golf spotlight as a result of recent announcements by the Ladies Professional Golf Association.Davis has been named executive director of the LPGA's Teaching Division, a newly created position, and one where the job description appears written for a person of her skills. Wagasky, a teaching professional at Buffalo Grove (Ill.) Golf Club, has been named LPGA National Golf Professional of the Year.The two are best remembered in this area for their competitive excellence, as they are among six women to have won consecutive Middle Atlantic Women's Amateur championships, and Davis added a third Middle Atlantic, plus Maryland State and Women's District titles.

When Stevenson was a member of the Capital Athletic Conference, the program took home regular-season crowns in 2009 and 2011. The No. 4 Mustangs have an opportunity for another league championship, but as members of the Middle Atlantic Conference. Stevenson (13-2 overall and 6-0 in the league) only have to defeat No. 16 Widener (9-4, 5-1) on Saturday night to capture the regular-season title, and coach Paul Cantabene said the accomplishment is a coveted honor. “Any time you can win a conference title, it's good for the program,” he said Thursday.

Kevin Allis punched his approach to within 18 inches of the cup at the 18th green, and the ensuing birdie enabled him to stave off a charge by five-time champion Marty West and win the 97th annual Middle Atlantic Amateur championship at Baltimore Country Club yesterday. Allis, a Baltimore resident who plays from Rolling Road Golf Club, shot an even-par 35 on the back nine of the East Course to finish with a 2-over-par 72, and a 72-hole total of 289. The leaders: Kevin Allis 76-70-71-72-289; Marty West 76-73-76-65-290; Terry Burke 78-68-74-71-291; Frank Alafoginis 70-79-74-69-292; Bill Hurley 78-71-73-71-293; David Partridge 76-73-71-73-293; Pat Tallent 73-73-74-74-294; Greg Rodgers 75-74-69-77-295; Phil Fairbanks 76-70-74-75-295; Andrew Pratt 75-75-75-71-296; Chuck Freedman 76-76-70-74-296; Tyler McKeever 76-71-73-76-296; Tim Dilli 74-73-72-77-296; Dan Hosek 74-69-79-75-297; Duke Delcher 80-68-75-76-299; John Moheyer 78-76-74-71-299; Mitch Wyatt 75-74-73-77-299; Skip Zobel 76-74-79-72-300.

Paul Cantabene was not entirely sure how the Stevenson players would react after dropping a 14-13 overtime decision to Roanoke on Tuesday night. But as the No. 3 Mustangs prepare to dip back into Middle Atlantic Conference play with a visit from Albright this Saturday at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills, the head coach is hoping that the team practices and plays with an undercurrent of anger. “I think we need to start playing a little more angrily,” Cantabene said Wednesday. “In my time here, this is one of our nicer teams.

BETHESDA -- Allen Barber of Yorktown, Va., shot a par-matching 72 in the annual Middle Atlantic Amateur championship yesterday to move into the lead after the second round with a total of 148 in the tournament at Congressional Country Club.Tim Landres of Rockville also posted 72, and was a stroke back at 149, followed by Trevor Randolph, a Congressional CC member now living in Houston, who moved into contention with the second-low round of the day, a 71, after opening with a 79.Joe Records of Timonium and Hillendale CC improved the greatest number of strokes when he returned the best score, a 2-under-par 70, for a 36-hole total of 158. His card included six pTC birdies, four on the front nine, as he returned 34-36.

One of the area's longest-running charity tournaments will be held tomorrow, when the Golfers' Charitable Association conducts its 28th annual program at Caves Valley Golf Club.A full field of 128 entries will be joined by 32 Middle Atlantic PGA professionals for afternoon play, followed by an awards dinner. The highlight will be the presentation of $25,000 checks to St. Joseph's Pediatric Center and the Woodbourne Center.These donations will bring to more than $1.5 million the amount the GCA has contributed to charity since its inception in 1967.

Robert W. Brownell, 86, one of the foremost golfers and administrators in the Middle Atlantic region, has died after a brief illness. Mr. Brownell, who died Oct. 14 in Kensington, won 11 District of Columbia amateur championships, including 10 in the row in the mid-1950s. This came out to a 58-match winning streak, an unprecedented feat at the regional level in the U.S. In addition, he also won five Middle Atlantic Amateur tournaments, one Maryland State Amateur tournament and one Maryland Open.

Salisbury beats Cabrini, 79-66, for school-record 13th straightRADNOR, Pa. -- Dameon Ross scored 24 points, and Andre Foreman added 20 points and 13 rebounds, as Salisbury State defeated Cabrini, 79-66, for its school-record 13th consecutive win. The Sea Gulls had won 12 straight during last season.Swarthmore 78, Washington 77CHESTERTOWN -- Matt Douglass completed a four-point play when he hit a three-point shot from the corner and converted a foul shot with four seconds left to give Swarthmore a Middle Atlantic Conference-Southeast victory.

The mid-Atlantic region is turning into a banking backwater; welcome the financial meccas of the future: Charlotte, N.C., Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.That's the banking world according to Arnold G. Danielson, president of Rockville-based Danielson Associates Inc., a consulting business that released its latest Middle Atlantic Banking Report this week.It's a world in which mergers will continue among regional and super-regional banking companies; smaller banks that avoid being acquired will grow to the point that they become pTC irresistible targets; and only the smallest community banks will remain independent.

Mike Rhoades and John Harper sparked a second-half Lebanon Valley rally, as the Flying Dutchmen ended Johns Hopkins' 13-game winning streak with a 58-54 victory over the host Blue Jays in a Middle Atlantic Conference South Division semifinal last night.Lebanon Valley (17-9, tied for fifth in Middle Atlantic Region rankings) advances to the MAC South championship tomorrow at Franklin & Marshall, a 67-52 winner over Widener in the other semifinal last night.Johns Hopkins (19-6 overall, third in Middle Atlantic rankings)

After defeating three Middle Atlantic Conference opponents, Stevenson breaks up its league slate with a non-conference tilt with Roanoke Tuesday night. The game was initially scheduled to be played at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills on Wednesday, March 6, but a storm forced the contest to be postponed. Finding a later date proved impossible until Stevenson offered to travel to Salem, Va., and both sides agreed to Tuesday night at Donald J. Kerr Stadium. “We wanted to keep the game,” Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene said Monday.

Colleges No. 3 North Carolina tops No. 5 Duke in OT in women's lacrosse Kara Canizzaro scored four goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead No. 3 North Carolina to a 12-11 win over host No. 5 Duke at Koskinen Stadium on Thursday night. The third-ranked Tar Heels won their 10th game in a row and improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Duke fell to 9-2 and 2-2. Carolina has won eight of the past 10 meetings in the series, including two of the past three meetings in Durham.

Et cetera Stevenson, Hood to join Middle Atlantic Conference Stevenson and Hood, currently members of the Capital Athletic Conference, have accepted invitations to join the Middle Atlantic Conference, effective July 1, 2012. Founded in 1912, the Middle Atlantic Conference, commonly known as the MAC, is an organization of three conferences — Commonwealth, Freedom and Middle Atlantic. Stevenson and Hood will participate in the Commonwealth. With the additions, the MAC will have 18 schools in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

Robert W. Brownell, 86, one of the foremost golfers and administrators in the Middle Atlantic region, has died after a brief illness. Mr. Brownell, who died Oct. 14 in Kensington, won 11 District of Columbia amateur championships, including 10 in the row in the mid-1950s. This came out to a 58-match winning streak, an unprecedented feat at the regional level in the U.S. In addition, he also won five Middle Atlantic Amateur tournaments, one Maryland State Amateur tournament and one Maryland Open.

Kevin Allis punched his approach to within 18 inches of the cup at the 18th green, and the ensuing birdie enabled him to stave off a charge by five-time champion Marty West and win the 97th annual Middle Atlantic Amateur championship at Baltimore Country Club yesterday. Allis, a Baltimore resident who plays from Rolling Road Golf Club, shot an even-par 35 on the back nine of the East Course to finish with a 2-over-par 72, and a 72-hole total of 289. The leaders: Kevin Allis 76-70-71-72-289; Marty West 76-73-76-65-290; Terry Burke 78-68-74-71-291; Frank Alafoginis 70-79-74-69-292; Bill Hurley 78-71-73-71-293; David Partridge 76-73-71-73-293; Pat Tallent 73-73-74-74-294; Greg Rodgers 75-74-69-77-295; Phil Fairbanks 76-70-74-75-295; Andrew Pratt 75-75-75-71-296; Chuck Freedman 76-76-70-74-296; Tyler McKeever 76-71-73-76-296; Tim Dilli 74-73-72-77-296; Dan Hosek 74-69-79-75-297; Duke Delcher 80-68-75-76-299; John Moheyer 78-76-74-71-299; Mitch Wyatt 75-74-73-77-299; Skip Zobel 76-74-79-72-300.

Philip Mahone, from Earlysville, Va., took a two-stroke lead with a 2-under 68 that included five front-nine birdies as the Middle Atlantic Golf Association's Men's Amateur championship opened yesterday on Baltimore Country Club's East Course. Leaders: Philip Mahone, Earlysville, Va., 30-38-68; Frank Alafoginis, Potomac, 35-35-70; Rick Wakefield, Fairfax,Va., 36-36-72; Pat Tallent, Vienna, Va., 36-37-73; Dan Hosek, Alexandria, Va., 38-36-74; Tim Dilli, Towson, 35-39-74. * Two-Woman Team: Baltimorean Andrea Kraus took care of the front nine and Lisa Schlesinger posted two birdies on the back nine, giving the pair a combined par 72 to win the Maryland State Golf Association's 10th championship at Beechtree Golf Club in Aberdeen.

If Henry H. Miller, chairman of the Baltimore Municipal Gol Corp., has his way (and he usually gets it) golfers would be banned from taking first tee practice swings.What upsets Miller, who repeatedly has been lauded for his success in upgrading golf conditions at the five Baltimore municipal courses, is the fact that golfers are abusive first tee users.It has been pointed out that golfers, full of zest to get their rounds started, use untold numbers of practice swings on the first tees while attempting to loosen their muscles and groove their swings.

POTOMAC -- One of a tournament champion's perks was readily visible yesterday, when Fred Funk was paired with Billy Andrade and Mark O'Meara. They drew times in the middle of the morning for the first round of the 25th Kemper Open at TPC-Avenel."

BETHESDA - Andrew Medley took a two-month layoff from competitive golf leading up to this weekend's Middle Atlantic Amateur Golf Championships, and the time off seems to have done him well. Medley, of Jackson, Miss., shot his second consecutive 3-under 67 round yesterday to open a three-shot lead after the third round at the par-70, 6,674-yard Bethesda Country Club course. "I really am surprised," said Medley, who played his previous tournament in August. "Two years ago, when I won the Eastern Amateur, I did the same thing.

BETHESDA - Before yesterday afternoon's first round in the 72-hole Middle Atlantic Amateur Golf Championships, Gaithersburg native Dan Falls admitted he had been discouraged with his game. "I was actually thinking about withdrawing from this event," Falls said. "[Defending champion] Brian Quackenbush kind of talked me into playing. Now I'm glad he did." Falls, 26, opened the tournament with a 2-under 68 at the par-70, 6,674-yard Bethesda Country Club course and is in a three-way tie atop the 120-player field with Greenbelt's Chuck Freedman and Cordes Forbes IV of Columbia, S.C. Falls, who played four years of college golf at Furman University before graduating in 1999, took two years off from the sport after college.