Styling Hampton Bays Golf Team, Thanks to Generous Donation, Is Set To Start the Season

At the onset of the fall season, the Hampton Bays golf team was given 12 premium golf bags by the Eugene Francolini Golf Initiative through the Arthur J. Jones Scholarship Fund to get players’ seasons off on the right foot.

After graduating from Hampton Bays High School in 1982, Art Jones attended Hamilton College on a basketball scholarship, and eventually ended up working at Carr Futures in the World Trade Center. He was working on September, 11, 2001, and was one of the many that lost their lives that day. Not long after, the AJJ Scholarship Fund was created to help keep his memory alive and to empower young men and women living their lives in his likeness, and since its inception in 2001, the fund has awarded over $300,000 in scholarships and worthy community initiatives.

Eugene Francolini, the father-in-law of Art Jones, died in December 2020, and the Francolini family established the Eugene Francolini Memorial Golf Initiative to continue his legacy of supporting and giving back to the community he loved so much. The main initiative is intended to aid the Hampton Bays High School golf program and its athletes.

Hampton Bays golf head coach Pete Meehan said the AJJ Scholarship Fund, along with the Eugene Francolini Golf Initiative, has been very generous to the program over the past few seasons. The team was given rain jackets just a few years ago. He said he and the team are deeply appreciative.

“These golf bags are big bucks. They’re pretty expensive, so we’re going to look like a golf program especially on rainy days,” Meehan said. “It’s very nice of them to do that for our kids, who are really the beneficiaries of this and are keeping Mr. Francolini’s memory alive. The AJJ Scholarship Fund does so much, not only for the Hampton Bays School District, but even surrounding school districts as well.”

The Baymen have been a .500 team over the past few seasons, which has allowed them to finish in the top half of League VII, with the likes of Riverhead, Mattituck and Eastport-South Manor. Meehan said he has nine golfers on varsity this season, five of whom are returning, and there’s good numbers on JV as well.

The team’s top two golfers in Erik Sandstrom and Michael Poremba both return along with fellow senior Rieve Nydegger. Sandstrom will be the team’s number one for thee years running, and between him, Poremba and Nydegger, the three combine for 13 years of varsity experience, which should help, Meehan said. Johnny Tedesco, a second-year freshman, and junior Matt Luse are the only two returning from last season.

Isabelle Brady, who played for Meehan four years ago on JV, has decided to come back out for the team as a senior. Dylan Foley, Matthew Papajohn and Jesus Mora, all seniors, have joined the team as well.

“Of our nine golfers, seven are seniors, so we have senior leadership,” Meehan said. “Our four, five, and six spots, they don’t necessarily need to win, but they need to be competitive, and we need each one of our golfers to understand what’s at stake. Just because you may not win a round, as long as you’re close, that could mean the match.”

Riverhead has taken over as the top team in League VII, and Meehan said it will continue to do so this season. But his team has been able to be competitive with Mattituck and Eastport-South Manor recently. Greenport/Southold and Shelter Island make up the rest of the league.

After a tri-meet with Mattituck and Shelter Island on Monday, the Baymen were expected to play at Shelter Island on Thursday, September 14.