Seeking solace in season’s delay
Men’s, women’s teams trying to make most of disappointing situation
John Ciano has guided the College of Saint Rose men’s soccer team to unprecedented success since taking over the program in 2016. He was looking forward to expanding upon the Golden Knights’ most successful campaign in its 38-year history this fall but instead will have to wait to embark on his fifth season at the helm.
The Northeast-10 Conference made the announcement Thursday as its council of presidents voted unanimously to suspend all league-sponsored competition through Dec. 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The conference plans to play fall and winter sports during the spring of 2021.
Ciano guided his squad to its first Northeast-10 final during the 2019 season when the Golden Knights dropped a 2-1 verdict against Assumption. Saint Rose finished 10-6-4 overall and 6-4-2 in conference play.
Like the rest of the school’s coaches, Ciano had to share the difficult news with his charges Thursday. He was impressed with the way his players handled the disappointing information.
“I have been very impressed just with the resiliency and positivity of our guys,” Ciano said.
“It is something we have spoken about, especially on our Zoom meetings, about having a positive attitude. Most of your growth comes through challenges and trying to find the silver linings in tough moments. I think we made a good decision in going to the spring. Obviously, you want to play in the fall. In order to get in a full season, (the change) was the right call.”
Soccer success has been synonymous with the Saint Rose women’s program. The Golden Knights, under the tutelage of coach Laurie Darling Gutheil, advanced to the Division II national semifinals in 2019. The Golden Knights (21-3-1) fell to
said, and of course he was kidding. “No, this would break her heart.”
The arrival of Marylou Whitney at the races at Saratoga — particularly the day of the Whitney — was highly anticipated by those who knew her well and those who didn’t know her at all. That is the presence she had.
Just ask Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, who trained on and off for Whitney for 20plus years. He gave Marylou two of her biggest prizes in racing when little Birdstone won the 2004 Belmont Stakes — denying Smarty Jones the Triple Crown in the process — and the Travers later in the summer.
“I have so much I could say about her,” Zito said Saturday. “People always wanted to see her. When I was out in town, people would say, ‘Where is Marylou? I really want to meet her.’ I knew her longer than a lot of people. I can just about cry right now.”
Zito proposed the idea of having an annual horse racing award named for Marylou Whitney. It would honor a woman whose achievements in racing deserved to be recognized.
The power of Marylou Whitney might be felt all over town on Sunday. The day after she died in 2019, racing came to a screeching halt because of oppressive heat that slammed the East Coast. Some took that as a sign.
Maybe there will be another one on Sunday. Although racing is still scheduled to go on at the Spa, temperatures are predicted to rise into the mid-90s. If it gets too hot and the heat index turns the Spa into a boiler, maybe there will be a gentle reminder from Marylou that she is still watching.
“Marylou was synonymous with Saratoga,” Hendrickson said. “You can’t replace that.”
“She meant everything to Saratoga,” said Dave O’rourke, the president and CEO of the New York Racing Association. “When you think of this place, her name is the first name that comes to mind for me.”
Hendrickson says he is dedicating himself to making sure that his wife’s legacy lives on. Marylou made it a personal crusade of hers to take care of the men and women who take care of the horses on the backstretch. She and Hendrickson would organize nights of fun for the grooms, hotwalkers and exercise riders who lived on the backstretch.
Because of the pandemic, those events have been put on hold for a summer, but meals will still be boxed up and given to the Recreation Center near the Oklahoma Training Track.
“She would want me to keep helping people,” Hendrickson said.
An online auction of Marylou’s personal items begins Monday, July 27, and goes until Saturday, Aug. 1 (the date of the Whitney at Saratoga). Money raised from the auction will help fund a new medical center for backstretch workers.
“That is what she would want,” Lewi said. “It would make her very happy. I knew her for so long. She really cared about people.”
Lewi choked up telling of how Marylou presented her with a ring a year of so before her passing. It had one word inscribed on it: Love. She was wearing it on Saturday.
“She wanted me to know when I wore this ring, she would have her arm around me and would be holding my hand,” Lewi said. “I just miss her so much.”