Former Staten Islander hits first career hole-in-one; SI Women’s 600 Bowling Club and ACBL all-star

Ron LoPrimo did what he thought was impossible for him last Thursday morning in the Heritage Point Golf League.

The 74-year-old, formerly of Westerleigh, made his first hole-in-one in his career after 30 years of golfing.

It came on the sixth hole, a par-3, 100-yard setup at the Atlantis Golf Course in Tuckerton, NJ. Three others in LoPrimo’s group saw the ball fall into the hole.

“Unbelievable. I still can’t believe it,” said LoPrimo, a retired Con Edison employee. “It will probably be my last.

“I didn’t even see him go in. I hit it on the green and as we were walking someone said we should measure it because the person closest to the hole got $20. Another man said: ‘the ball is still rolling. It’s still rolling.’ And then he said, ‘Ron, he went into the (damn) hole.’ ”

LoPrimo had never been a serious golfer while on the island, but he became more committed to the sport when he moved to South Jersey about eight years ago and enjoyed the Heritage Point loop.

The ace also proved profitable for LoPrimo.

“The league puts money in a hole-in-one pot every year and no one has hit in the last four or five years, so I won $400,” LoPrimo said. “That just added to it.”

Pins rattle during the SI Women’s 600 Club event

The Staten Island Women’s 600 Club concluded its highly anticipated annual No-Tap Doubles tournament this weekend with an exciting display of skill and camaraderie among local bowlers at Rab’s Country Lanes.

The event attracted enthusiastic participants eager to demonstrate their bowling skills in a unique format, where knocking down nine pins on the first ball counts as a strike for 600-rated bowlers, and eight pins for their non-600-rated partners.

After fierce competition and strategic play, the duo of Fabiana Iannuzzi and Abigail Cruz managed to knock down a total of 1,508 pins to emerge as the winners of Division A. In Division B, Nancy Avignone and Cheryl Dunne fell 1,328 pins to win.

“We are thrilled with the turnout and level of competition today,” said Michele Durkin, president of the Staten Island Women’s 600 Club, reflecting on the event’s success. “The No-Tap format adds an extra layer of excitement to traditional bowling, making every frame an exciting challenge.”

The event not only celebrated local bowling talent, but also served as a community gathering, bringing residents together to enjoy the thrill of competitive bowling.

The final results

Division A:

1st – Fabiana Iannuzzi and Abigail Cruz (1,508)

2nd – Mikele Brennan and Darlene Jackson (1,470)

3rd: Erica Kavanaugh and Antoinette Pace (1,441)

Division B:

1st — Nancy Avignone and Cheryl Dunne (1,328)

2nd — Michele Durkin and Angela Rautenstrauch (1,249)

3rd — Cindy Balagtas and Anjelika Kua (1,238)

Two with island ties will compete in the ACBL All-Star game

Staten Islander John Downey, a St. Joseph by-the-Sea product bound for Marywood University, and New Jersey’s William Grayson, a Wagner College recruit, represented the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) on Tuesday in an all star competition at Liberty University in Virginia.

Both play for the Jersey Shore Stallions of the ACBL and they played against a team consisting of players from Florida, Georgia and New York.

Downey pitched a scoreless inning, while Grayson pitched two innings and allowed two runs.

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