[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 139 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12445-S12446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF THE NAAMANS LITTLE LEAGUE

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Biden and 
myself, I congratulate Coaches Joe Mascelli, Bob Waters and H.J. Lopes, 
and the Naamans Little League team. Their accomplishment of becoming 
the first Delaware team to reach the Little League World Series 
demonstrates the success that comes from hard work, perseverance, 
dedicated coaching, and the support of parents and fans.
  The Little League World Series, held during the month of August in 
Williamsport, PA, ended a dramatic, record-breaking season for the 
Naamans Little League team. The Delaware State champions and Mid-
Atlantic regional champions final overall record through district, 
state, regional, and world series play was 14-3. They finished their 
world series experience at 1-2, with a win over Iowa and losses to 
Arizona and Texas.
  This year, the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship team consisted of 
12 players: Jarad Carney, Kevin Czachorowski, Scott Dougherty, Cory 
Firmani, Constantine Fournaris, Danny Frate, Michael Julian, Zack 
Lopes, Tim Marcin, Dave Mastro, Vince Russomagno, and Kip Skibicki.
  Coach Mascelli said his team gained a lot from this experience, both 
on the field and off the field. One of the highlights was the 
tremendous outpouring

[[Page S12446]]

of fan support, not just from residents of Delaware, but also from 
people around the nation and the world. They were flooded with letters 
and emails from states across the nation, including California, and 
countries as far away as Germany. Coach Mascelli also said his players 
received an education beyond baseball. They all handled their celebrity 
status with the public and the media with a maturity well beyond their 
years. The team's objective at the Little League World Series was to 
represent the state of Delaware with class and dignity. We are proud to 
say that the Naamans team accomplished just that.
  Today, we congratulate the Naamans Little League and coaches 
Mascelli, Lopes, and Waters. They accomplished something that no other 
Delaware team has done, and they made each one of us proud.

                          ____________________