Whitman's Chris Rinaldi wins Suffolk bowling singles tournament after lending opponent shoes and ball
Chris Rinaldi, left, of Whitman, and Alexander Greaves of Half Hollow Hills pose with Rinaldi's shoes and ball at AMF Lanes in Commack on Friday. Credit: Neil Miller
Things were looking bleak for Half Hollow Hills bowler Alexander Greaves.
Moments before the Suffolk boys bowling singles tournament on Wednesday, Greaves had neither his bowling shoes nor his ball. Enter Whitman’s Chris Rinaldi, who lent his shoes and ball to Greaves until his mother arrived with his equipment midway through the first game of the qualifying round.
“I was a little frustrated, but I had Chris, his family and my other friends saying they’d lend me a ball and shoes,” Greaves said. “Once I calmed down, I used Chris’ ball and shoes for a couple frames and I found a rhythm.”
With Rinaldi’s gear, Greaves started his day with a strike, strike, spare and another strike before he was back in his own shoes.
“Obviously, in a situation like that we were kind of going against each other. But I didn’t want to see someone who I know personally to fail,” Rinaldi said. “Whatever I could do to help, I wanted to do.”
They wound up facing each other in the semifinals, with Rinaldi taking a 279-165 win to advance to the final. Rinaldi defeated East Islip’s Niko Stavropoulos, 215-168, to win the championship and secure a spot on Suffolk’s sectional team, which will compete during the state bowling championships on March 9 in Syracuse.
“I’m happy that Chris beat me and I’m happy that he won the tournament,” Greaves said. “I’ve known him for about three years now and we like to joke around about our records against each other.”
On Thursday, Half Hollow Hills (14-2) trailed North Babylon (14-2) by six points in the Suffolk League I standings. Rinaldi led Whitman with a 696 series as the Wildcats fell to North Babylon, 22-11.
In the last roll of Half Hollow Hills’ match with Deer Park, Greaves needed a strike to tie his opponent and give Hills a half point to win the tiebreaker over North Babylon. He delivered and Hills defeated Deer Park 28.5 to 4.5. With 386.5 total points to North Babylon’s 386 points, Hills clinched its first ever league title.
“With Chris leading the way for Whitman and Alexander giving us the half point to win the league, it’s just a crazy symmetry between those two, who happen to be friends and bowl in the same leagues,” Half Hollow Hills coach Anthony Scorcia said.
That’s what friends are for.
