Friday at the AYF Olympics

The AYF Olympics kicked off at dawn on Friday, with golfers leaving the hotel at 6:45 a.m. for Stow Acres Country Club. Tennis players followed a bit later for their shorter commute to the MIT tennis courts. The forecast called for a beautiful, partly sunny day in the mid-70s, with some rain expected in the afternoon—well after AYF golf and tennis traditionally end. For as long as I have been writing these daily articles, Friday has always been a challenge. With golf and tennis happening simultaneously, I would start at one event and finish at the other. The one I finished always received better coverage, as I was there when the medals were given out. This year, I covered golf and the newest member of our reporting crew, Nareg Mkrtschjan, in his first year after aging out of the AYF, covered tennis. Nareg’s first reporting assignment had a most interesting start. Did I mention earlier that rain wasn’t forecast until the late afternoon? Well, it started raining—a deluge, in fact—just before tennis was supposed to start. So, there was a delay. Luckily, the MIT folks had indoor courts available, so play started indoors and moved outside once the courts dried up. Because of these delays—switching from outdoors to indoors to outdoors again—and some fierce competition, AYF tennis, which is usually over by 2 or 3 p.m., went until 6 p.m.! Tennis: Detroit, for I believe the first time ever, took gold in both the men’s and women’s sides. Eight-time gold medalist Hagop Taraksian lost in the semifinals to New Jersey’s Alex Curukcu. Being the class act he is, Hagop was very happy to see Michael-Armen Kadian, whom he had beaten in the finals the past three years, take gold. Men’s Tennis Michael-Armen Kadian, Detroit Alex Curukcu, New Jersey Hagop Taraksian, Providence George Chapian, Boston On the women’s side, newcomer Talia Nishanian impressed in every match on her way to gold. New Jersey, which had dominated women’s tennis for the past five years, had only Mia Setrakian earn points with her second-place finish. Women’s Tennis Talia Nishanian, Detroit Mia Setrakian, New Jersey Giselle Krikorian, Granite City Nicole Yaghdjian, New York Golf: At Stow Acres, golfers arrived to a spread of breakfast sandwiches, danishes, orange juice and coffee. AYFers and alumni warmed up on the driving range and practice green before heading out for a shotgun start. Men and alumni played 18 holes, while women played nine. For the women, Boston claimed first and fourth places, while New Jersey took second and third. Women’s Golf Victoria Sarkisian, Boston Kira Ayrian, New Jersey Victoria Ezgilioglu, New Jersey Christina Avakian, Boston On the men’s side, all eyes were on Alex Kassabian, considered one of the best AYF golfers ever—if not, the GOAT. Every aspect of his game is at a high level and he is a joy to watch play. Alex mastered the Stow Acres course with a scorching 67 to win gold. Boston swept second, third and fourth—all shooting 79! Men’s Golf Alex Kassabian, New York Nareg Aboyan, Boston Haig Megerdichian, Boston Nishan Avedikian, Boston Among alumni, Peter Tashjian shot an impressive 72 to earn the top honor, edging out Aram Ouligian by one stroke. Daron Merian came in third with 78. Alumni Golf Peter Tashjian Aram Ouligian Daron Merian The rain held off until the last golfers turned in their scorecards. Then, the sky opened up. Swimming: The next stop was swimming at the Beede Swim and Fitness Center in Concord, a beautiful facility with an eight-lane pool. Like last year, swimming started on time and ended in record time. We have clearly entered the era of efficient swim meet management, thanks to Ara Sarajian of the Governing Body and his team. Three swimmers turned in excellent performances, winning gold medals: Natalia Oganesian, Providence Nora Vartanian, Boston Matt Janian, North Andover Boston, Detroit and Providence delivered strong team performances in the pool. Friday Night: After swimming, we returned to the hotel, cleaned up and headed to the Grand Ballroom for the Friday night dances. Alumni danced to the musical offerings of Mal Barsamian, Rich Berberian, Bruce Gigarjian, Michael Gostanian and Ron Tutunjian. The AYF Central Executive then took the stage to announce the Olympic King and Queen and the Varadian Spirit Award recipients. Bob Tutunjian was named Olympic King, Satenig Dulgarian Ghazarian was named Olympic Queen and the Varadian Spirit Award went to Heather Krafian and Michael Guzelian. After these announcements, DJ Rams revved up the crowd and the dancers transitioned from alumni to, let’s say, future alumni. The Yerakouyn Band—Aram Hovagimian, Raffi and Shant Massoyan and Steve Vosbikian—rocked the ballroom until the wee hours of the morning. Look for more in-depth coverage of golf, tennis and swimming in the Armenian Weekly’s AYF Olympic Special Issue, which will also include interviews and biographies of the King, Queen and Varadian Spirit Award recipients. On behalf of Harry Derderian and myself, congratulations to Bob, Satenig, Heather and Michael. We are especially proud to see our reporting colleague Bob named Olympic King. For Saturday at the AYF Olympics, we are looking forward to AYF softball, the picnic and the musical stylings of Arame in the evening.

Friday at the AYF Olympics

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Mark Gavoor

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This story is FREE for you...

Mark Gavoor

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