October 14, 2010 – The Metropolitan Golf Association and Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association team came up short in their efforts to win the 18th French-American Challenge on October 14 as they fell to the Ligue de Paris 12 ½ to 7 ½ . Despite a solid performance in the first day of the competition, the MGA/WMGA team was unable to overcome the great play of the French team during the singles matches, which were held today at Golf de Fontainebleau in Fontainebleau, France.

The MGA/WMGA team entered the final day of the competition trailing by one point and in a good position to win the matches. The team got off to a great start as Lee Ann Lewis of Southward Ho halved her match against Virginie Burrus and Kuriko Tsukiyama of Overpeck won her match with Marie Arnoux. However, the Ligue de Paris kicked their games into high gear and notched victories in six of the final eight matches to put them over the top. Among the bright spots for the MGA team were Bryan Pendrick of Oyster Bay, who halved his match against Francois Rouilleaux, and 2008 MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington, who defeated Antoine Schwartz, to earn the MGA/WMGA team’s final point.

The top point earners for the MGA were Mike Ballo Jr. of Woodway and David Pierce of Neshanic Valley, who won both of their team matches when paired together on day one. They finished the competition earning two points each, but were held scoreless in singles play. The top point earner on the WMGA side was Tsukiyama, who finished the competition with 2 points.

MGA President and team captain Kathy Cosgrove said the following about the experience in France, “Fontainebleau and the Ligue have been tremendous hosts and we enjoyed every second of the competition.”

The French-American Challenge was founded in 1990 by international jeweler Henri Samuel of the Paris-based FRED Joallier to foster sportsmanship, camaraderie and goodwill between our two nations. First played at beautiful Chantilly Golf Course outside Paris, the matches alternate between the New York and Paris metropolitan areas. Some of the finest courses on both sides of the Atlantic have hosted the matches, including Baltusrol, Sleepy Hollow, Atlantic and Mountain Ridge in the United States; and Chantilly, St. Cloud, St. Germain, Racing Club de France/LaBoulie, Joyenval and St. Nom de la Breteche in France.