June 30, 2006

A sold-out field of 128 golfers enjoyed a great afternoon of golf and a post-round reception, dinner and auction at the annual Saints Alive! Shootout presented by Albany International and Time Warner Cable June 19 at Shaker Ridge Country Club in Loudonville. The foursome of Dave Blair, Scott Knapp, Micah Ogburn and Kevin O'Leary took home the top prize as the gross winners.

The golf was accented by several Siena "celebrity" appearances at many holes, as golfers had the opportunity to best head men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery tee-shot at the par-3 fourth, and purchase a drive from one of Siena's top golfers, Bryan or Robby Bigley at the par-5 13th. Each of Siena's coaches were on hand at each hole to greet golfers and represent their sports along with several student-athletes in what has become the department's most popular annual fund-raising event.

The post round shootout did not take place as a result of severe weather late in the day, however the top 17 teams (representing each of Siena's sports teams) were entered into a drawing and the foursome of Steve Hart, Christian King, John Zongrone and Gary Foster representing baseball were selected as the Shootout winners. As a result, the baseball team had $1,000 added to its budget.

Capital News 9 sports anchor Damian Andrew emceed the evening festivities following a cocktail hour and buffet dinner. The highlight was a heated live auction offering exclusive prizes including two separate one-week stays in a Hilton Head, S.C. condo, as well as a Day at the Races in Saratoga that included corporate box and lunch for five. An on-going silent auction also prompted spirited rivalry among the golfers, as everything from a Mets/Astros package including Amtrak transportation, to a trip to the men's basketball game at Stanford and a framed photo of Barbaro at the Kentucky Derby were auctioned off to the highest bidder.

John Burke was the winner of the Delta Raffle, receiving two roundtrip tickets anywhere in the continental United States or the Caribbean Delta Airlines flies. A hole-in-one contest on the par-3 16th hole for a Caribbean Cruise went unclaimed.

Other winners included: Net Winners: Tom Babcock, Stephen Ferradino, Gerald McAuliffe and Dan Thompson; 2nd Net: Rich Flaherty, Dave Brown, Bob Crandall and Tim Reilly; 3rd Net: Jim Delaney, Mike Feno, Mike Hughes and Steve Karbowski; 4th Net: Traci Brundage, Salvatore Ingalls, Rae Quesada and Richard Voris. All proceeds from the day benefited Siena's student-athletes.