V
Competition And Camaraderie
Detroit's teen athletes return from annual
JCC Maccabi Games with 64 medals and new friendships.
JAMIE ROSEN
College Intern
A
8/31
2001
14
fter earning 64 medals and
making new friends, 173
Detroit teens proudly
returned from the annual
JCC Maccabi Games, held this year
in Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore
Aug. 19-24.
The teens, who resided with host
families in each city, participated in a
total of 18 sporting events as well as a
half-day of community service.
Nightly social activities provided them
with the opportunity to meet Jewish
athletes from all over the world.
"They get a chance to interact with
other Jewish teenagers, not only seeing
how they live, but creating lasting rela-
tionships," says in-line hockey coach
Richard Zussman of Huntington
Woods. "It creates a peer support
group comprised of other Jewish ath-
letes doing what they do — it steers
them in the right direction."
In Philadelphia, Detroit athletes had
the opportunity to compete with those
from Poland —10 softball and two
tennis players — making their first
appearance at the games.
Because of anti-Semitism, the softball
team, mostly from Warsaw, rarely had a
chance to practice on one of Poland's
three baseball/softball diamonds. They
arrived in America without equipment,
which was provided by the generous
Philadelphia Jewish community.
"The Maccabi Games are not just
about athletics, but about relationships
that can build throughout the entire
world," says softball coach Don Rudick
of West Bloomfield. "The Poland dele-
gation has shown 1,700 American kids
that there are Jews in Poland and that
they are alive and well."
Jersey Shore
14 Under Baseball
Detroit went 5-1, earning the silver
medal.
The team defeated Los Angeles 8-4 in
the tournament opener, with Brad
Levick pitching six strong innings. In
pool play, Detroit was 4-0, defeating
Los Angeles, Sephardic, Metrowest
and Pittsburgh.
Metrowest took an early 5-0 lead in
the semi-finals, but Adam Pullman, in
relief, held them scoreless in the last five
innings, giving Detroit the chance to
come back and win 11-5. Jake Sharfman
had an outstanding game with key hits
and stellar play behind the plate.
In the gold medal game, L.A. took an
early 3-0 lead, but Detroit was able to
bring the score up 2-3, with a two-run
single by Kevin Sack. L.A. went on to
win 9-3 and capture the gold medal.
16 6- Under Volleyball
16 er Under Table Tennis
The two Detroit teams played hard
and nearly took two of the three
medals available.
The veteran team, captained by
Lauren Elkus and Rachel Brody, was
upset in the bronze medal game by
Monmouth. The girls fought
valiantly, with outstanding perform-
ances by Rikki Aston, Hannah
Miller and Lisa Goode. Veteran
player Amanda Ossipove provided
extra leadership, while Brittani
Schwartz displayed an overpowering
serve, which had the opponents
constantly on their heels. Ariella Lis,
with her levelheaded approach,
made sure that the other girls kept
their cool at all times.
The rookie team, made up of
first-year players only, provided the
shock of the tournament by winning
the gold medal. Under the able lead-
ership of coaches Stacy Rothenberg
and Steve Click, the girls never lost
a match in the preliminary rounds.
Led by captain and lead-setter
Jamie Glassman, the girls' defensive
capabilities dazzled their opponents.
In the gold medal round against
Pittsburgh, Detroit swept them in
three straight games.
Emily Feldstein, Abby Siegel and
Monica Silvian provided smart play
and confidence to the mix.
Detroit's Michael Goode, David
Permut, Sam Yashinsky and Matt
Lefkowitz captured the bronze in the
team event.
Sam Yashinsky came away with the
bronze in 13/14 singles. In 13/14 dou-
bles, Matt Lefkowitz and Sam Yashinsky
earned the silver, while Brad Snider and
Andrew Lubetsky won the bronze.
In 15/16 doubles, David Permut
and Michael Goode won the bronze.
Above left: The four-time champion
15/16 in-line hockey team. Back row:
Kevin Ben-Ezra, Jeff Rotenberg and
Mark Lipson. Second row: Michael
Singer, Justin Bookmeier, Jordan
Schwartz, David Kloc, Noah Cohen
and Joel Fenkell. Front row: coach
Steve Friedman, coach Michael
Robbins, Bryan Robbins and
coach David Ben-Ezra.
Above right: The gold medal-winning
rookie volleyball team. Back row:
coach Jaimee Wiener, Tedi Milgrom,
Joey Herman, Lindsey Scher, Monica
Silvian, Dina Pilnits, coach Steve
Click and coach Stacy Rothenberg.
Front row: Jamie Glassman, Abby
Siegel and Emily Feldstein.