---

January 26, 2005

CAL grads contribute on college level

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


The No. 1 boys basketball team in South Jersey is from the Cape-Atlantic League (though there is a healthy debate about which CAL team).

The No. 1 ranked girls basketball team in South Jersey is from the Cape-Atlantic League. So is the No. 1 ranked wrestling team, the No. 1 ranked boys swim team and the No. 1 ranked girls swim team.

Are there any other leagues playing out there?

Of course there are, they’re just second best this winter.

It has, obviously, been a strong first five weeks of the 2004-05 winter season with the best still ahead of us. Before we get too heavy into the basketball showcases, the wrestling tournaments and the NJSIAA post-season competitions, lets take a moment to catch up on some of the fine athletes who helped build the reputation of the CAL.

For example:
TORY CAVALIERI (Atlantic City) is a senior guard averaging 15.9 ppg for St. Francis, where he has made 48 of 106 three-pointers.

JEN DANIELS (Holy Spirit) is a junior at George Mason averaging 11.8 ppg, 3.1 apg and making 81 percent of her free throws, all team bests. She had 17 points and eight assists Sunday vs Virginia Commonwealth.

JEFF BLACK (Absegami) is a redshirt freshman at Rider where he has compiled a 12-7 record at 197 pounds. His older brother, LABE, a senior battling an injury, is 2-3 at 157 pounds.

POPS MENSAH-BONSU (St. Augustine) is a junior averaging 13.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and nearly two blocked shots a game for George Washington.

ADRIENNE ROCHETTI (Sacred Heart) averages 4.1 points and 2.7 assists per game as a sophomore for New York University, which is ranked among the Top 10 teams in NCAA Division III.

JOSE GONZALEZ (St. Augustine) is a senior averaging 12.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg for Wheeling (WV) Jesuit, where he scored his 1,000th point earlier this season.

SOFIA OJEDA (Absegami) is a senior at The College of New Jersey where she is averaging 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds a game. Ojeda recently hit three straight three-pointers in the second half to beat Montclair State.

RYAN LANCASTER (Egg Harbor Township) is a freshman averaging 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists for Holy Family, which recently won its sixth straight.

Freshmen BASIMAH THOMPSON (Absegami) and ERICA BELL (Oakcrest) are contributing at LIU-C.W. Post. Thompson averages 8.5 points and 2.0 assists. Bell chips in with 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds.

JOSH DAVIDSON (Ocean City), a freshman at Centenary, had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Montclair State. He also scored 19 against SUNY-Maritime, hitting five of nine from three-point range.

The Richard Stockton College men include a trio from the CAL. Senior BRIAN HILTNER (Holy Spirit) averages 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. BOO EVANS (Middle Township) gets 2.6 points and 1.3 steals. Freshman JON GREENE (Wildwood) is scoring 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. The Stockton women are getting numbers from junior KRYSTLE UMSCHEID (Lower Cape May), who averages 6.9 points per game and 2.6 rebounds.

Rowan has two young CAL grads on its mens team. Freshman MATT BYRNES (Oakcrest) scores 13.9 points a game, has hit 24 three-pointers and shoots 86 percent from the line. Sophomore TIM BOWSER (Millville) averages 11.3 points a game and hits 84 percent from the line. On the female side at Rowan, senior SAMANTHA ESKUCHEN (Atlantic City) averages 7.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and more than two blocks per game.

VIKA SHOLOKHOVA (Sacred Heart) is a freshman at Pitt averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

OLU BABALOLA (St. Augustine) is a senior struggling with a foot injury the last year at Clemson. He is averaging 6.6 points per game and 1.6 rebounds.

EMILY BATEMAN (Mainland) is a sophomore at Richmond where she currently has the second fastest times in the Atlantic-10 in both the 100 and 200 meter freestyle.

SCOTT GREENMAN (St. Augustine) is a junior at Princeton averaging 8.0 points and 2.3 assists per game. He also leads the Tigers with 25 three-pointers.

IKEA WITT (Sacred Heart) is a sophomore at Hartford averaging 10.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

There are more, to be sure, and we’ll try to catch up with them later. In the mean time, enjoy the Cape-Atlantic League’s dominance in South Jersey sports this winter.



Read more of Tom Williams' columns