More than 150 people gathered in the auditorium of the Student Activities Center at Stony Brook University (SBU) on Saturday evening to watch the final round of the day-long Bay Scallop Bowl competition. The 13th round pitted teams from Churchville-Chili High School from upstate NY against Mt. Sinai High School on Long Island. By -7pm, the final match was over and Mt. Sinai, led by MSRC alumnus Andy Mathews (M.S. 1995), secured the victory. Second place went to Churchville-Chili High School and Longwood High School on Long Island took third place.
MSRC has hosted the Bay Scallop Bowl for the past four years and its success is a function of MSRC’ s Bowl Planning Committee and 100s of hours of effort contributed by volunteers from all over Long Island. SBU Provost Bob McGrath was impressed by the coordination and success of the day and noted, “This sort of event pulled off in the flawless way (MSRC has) engineered is exactly what we as a university should be doing.” MSRC Dean and Director David Conover added his appreciation and gratitude to all of the “staff, students, faculty, alumni, and friends who volunteered to make the day such an inspiring event.” Event volunteer coordinator Paula Rose was also impressed by the volunteer efforts. She noted, “The volunteers were very enthusiastic and well-prepared for the event. This simply could not happen without them.”
Cash prizes were awarded to the top three teams. Mt. Sinai, which has won three out of four Bay Scallop Bowls, will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to Biloxi, MS, to compete against the top 24 teams in the countty in the 2005 National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Mt. Sinai coach Andy Matthews added, “The Bay Scallop Bowl is an unbelievable event that really tests the marine knowledge of the participants. Mt. Sinai High School has been very fortunate to have done so well these past four years with so many talented teams competing, and we look forward to competing in next year’s event. I would really like to thank MSRC and all the volunteers for doing such a great job hosting the event. Each year it gets better and it is something my students will remember for their entire lives.”
