RYE, N.Y. (July 26, 2006) - The second day at the 89th MGA/MetLife Junior Championship at The Apawamis Club in Rye, N.Y., featured a man on a mission.  Chris Scialo of New City, N.Y., marched into the semi-finals with an impressive 6&5 victory over 2005 runner-up, and Apawamis member, Jeff Pike of Rye, N.Y.  Scialo will play Andrew Cohen of Mamaroneck, N.Y. in the semi-finals.  Robert Cronheim of Watchung, N.J., will play David Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., in the other semi-final match.

The sixth seeded Scialo heads into the semi-finals as the likely favorite to win the championship.  He finished in the top ten at the Carter Cup in 2004 & ’05 and qualified for match play in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.  Scialo started the day with a 4&3 win over Robert Cerabone of Commack, N.Y., before ousting with Pike in the quarter-finals.  Cohen, Scialo’s semi-final opponent, defeated Anthony Aloi, 1 up, in a tough morning match before cruising to a 6&4 victory over Sean Philippo of Mount Kisco, N.Y., in the afternoon.  Cohen, a recent graduate of Mamaroneck High School, is in the midst of a strong season that includes All State Honors (N.Y.).  He will be a freshman at Bucknell University in Lancaster, Pa., in the fall.

Cronheim will face off against Pastore in the first match tomorrow.  Cronheim, who reached match play at this year’s New Jersey State Amateur, defeated ninth-seeded Max Buckley of Rye, N.Y., in the morning round before eliminating Andrew Tursky of Hillsborough, N.J., in the afternoon.  Pastore, who will be a freshman at Greenwich High School in the fall, advanced to the semi-finals with a 3&1 victory over John Lessing of Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.  Pastore’s parents are coaches at the First Tee site in Norwalk, Conn., and he will compete in the First Tee Open in August.

The semi-finals are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, when Cronheim will face off against Pastore in the first match.  The finals will begin immediately following the completion of the semi-finals.  For complete results for the today’s rounds, as well as Thursday’s pairings, please visit the MGA website at www.mgagolf.org.