The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
CSGA set to open season
It’s taken some time and some adjustments to its schedule, but the Connecticut State Golf Association is ready to begin its tournament competition this week.
The 118th State Amateur will be played June 22-25 at Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk. The first qualifier for that event will be Tuesday at Oronoque CC in Stratford. This is the first statewide golf competition
— and likely the first tournament competition since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“We’ve believed all along that you can play golf safely during this pandemic,” said
Mike Moraghan, the executive director of the CSGA. “Golf lends itself naturally for social distancing. That is the key. Every medical expert has said from day one it is essential to maintain social distancing and eliminate all those common touch points where the virus might live.”
There were two other Amateur qualifiers scheduled in May, but the ones at Lyman Orchards GC and
Great Neck CC are now scheduled for June 10 and 11, respectively.
Said Oronoque CC general manager Tommy Miller: “We think it’s a good first step to normalcy. I feel like as a property we are ready to handle the regulations. We haven’t had any tournament play yet. By this time would have had eight or nine (club) events. It will be nice to be wake up, come in
what skill set strength of theirs makes most sense to round out our roster,” Miller told the Associated Press.
Traditionally, teams have until the beginning of the regular season to finalize their rosters. The 2020
campaign was scheduled to tip off May 15, with training camps slated to open a month prior. But the WNBA calendar has been thrown into flux by the coronavirus.
As the league continues to explore a variety of contingency plans to begin playing amid the pandemic — including games at one site, or possibly multiple
sites, rather than in home arenas — players, coaches and executives are doing their best to stay in touch. For the Sun, that means regular Zoom chats.
“This has obviously been a season like none other — we are all learning as we go, doing virtual team meetings, ball handling sessions,” Cox said.
Kaila Charles, drafted in
the second round (23rd overall) from Maryland, was one of the 11 players to make the team. Other new additions include four-time All-WNBA defender Briann January and former UConn star Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. Connecticut made the WNBA Finals last season, falling to the Washington Mystics in a decisive fifth game.
GILLESPIE SITTING OUT
Former Capital PrepHartford star and Meriden native Kiah Gillespie will skip the upcoming season, she announced earlier this week. Gillespie was drafted in the third round (32nd overall) by the Chicago Sky following a standout season at Florida State, where she averaged 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds and was named All-ACC.
Despite that success, Gillespie found herself on the roster bubble in Chicago. By sitting out, Gillespie will have the option of playing overseas while the Sky retain her rights.