Source Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y.–Rebound. Senior Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) helped his team rebound from a 12-point loss on Thursday to defeat Canisius in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Saturday, and in the process became Rider’s all-time rebound leader. \”Anytime you can break a record that stood for 30 years, anytime you can do something that nobody in the history of the school has done, that’s really special,\” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. \”We’re very proud of him. It’s a great record and he has a lot of rebounds left in him.\”

Thompson compiled 25 points and 13 rebounds, his seventh ‘double-double’ of the season and the 37^th of his career. The 13 rebounds gives him 878 for his career, breaking the Rider record of 874 set in 1977 by Chuck Simon.

\”I wasn’t aware that I was getting close to it,\” Thompson said. \”I guess it shows that all of the hard work during the off-seasons has paid off. It is an accomplishment I am proud of, but like I’ve said before, my only goal is to win a championship.\”

Holding a 63-50 lead, Rider (6-4, 1-1 MAAC) went on a 19-2 run, 10 points by Thompson, to take an 82-52 lead with 2:41 left to play.

\”They put a crowd around Jason for most of the game,\” Dempsey said. \”Once the game loosened up a bit in the second half they were a bit late with their double team. We got Jason the ball and if he gets the ball in the paint he’s very hard to stop.\”

Rider led 33-30 with 3:22 left in the first half before going on a 16-1 run, eight points by junior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham), to take a 49-31 lead, and the Broncs led 49-33 at the half. Mansell finished with 13 points.

Canisius committed 10 turnovers in the first half and finished with 15, \”They are a growing team, playing a lot of young players, so we were hoping to speed the game up,\” Dempsey said. \”It is difficult for a team to play fast with three or four freshmen on the court. We were trying to speed the game up and have their young players make decisions with the ball.\”

Canisius (0-8, 0-2 MAAC) made three three-point field goals in the first five minutes and led 13-9 before Rider went on a 9-1 run to take an 18-14 lead. That was the fifth and final lead change of the game.

Sophomore Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, while freshman Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) added 12 points, a career-high six rebounds, a career-high four steals and four assists in just 25 minutes of work.

\”Our guys passed the ball well, really shared the ball well in the open court,\” Dempsey said. \”We did a really good job tonight.\”

Rider out-rebounded Canisius 38-27. \”We dominated the boards,\” Dempsey said. ‘We forced some turnovers in the transition game. We’re very good when we can get in transition.\”

Rider returns to the Garden State and travels to Monmouth December 15 and to Rutgers December 21, before traveling to Drexel on December 27. \”Our next three games are exciting with local rivals, and our kids are excited about it,\” Dempsey said. \”Unfortunately they are all on the road, so it was good to get a road win tonight.\”

The victory Saturday was Rider’s first road win of the season, Rider is 4-0 at home and 1-2 on neutral court.

Thompson now has 1,553 career points, eighth highest ever at Rider and 37 points shy of seventh. \”I’ve heard people speak about me getting 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and that would be great, but I’m not really focused on that,\” Jason said. \”It would be a great record to get, but the record for most wins in a season would be even better. As I help my team win, the individual records will come.\”

\”We were focused on coming up here and winning both games,\” Dempsey said, \”but once we lost to Niagara there was only one thing left to do, and that was to split.\”

The Broncs rebounded from the loss at Niagara, and Jason Thompson continued to rebound for the Broncs.

-RU-

College Indoor Track

PRINCETON—The Rider University men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams opened the 2007-08 season competing at the Princeton New Year\’s Invitational Saturday at Jadwin Gym. \”I thought we got some things accomplished that we set out to do, including getting a good look at our younger athletes,\” said head coach Rob Pasquariello. \”Our goal was to see how competitive we are. It is much different competing in practice and competing in an actual meet. You never know where you stand until you compete against other schools.\”

For the Rider men, senior John Smith (Cliffwood Beach/Matawan) won the 3,000 meter with a person best time of 8:44.42. \”John just picked up right where he left off from cross country season,\” said Pasquariello. \”He led our distance squad today.\” Smith placed 14^th at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference cross country championships in October, earning All-MAAC honors for the third time in his career.

For the Rider women, junior Kelly Kajunski (Glenmore, Pa./Downington East) won the high jump with an ECAC qualifying height of 1.70m with sophomore Lauren Lester (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohanosen) winning the mile (5:21.54).

\”Kelly is ahead of schedule already in her preparation,\” Pasquariello said. \”Kelly is the person who the other athletes are going to look to and her consistency is going to allow her to stand on her own and surpass some of the accomplishments that Jazmine [Fenlator] put up last year. Kelly is developing into a leader, a take charge type of kid and is doing everything we have asked of her.\”

Fenlator graduated as a two-time Rider Female Athlete of the Year and was named the Most Outstanding Performer at both the Indoor and Outdoor Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Track & Field Championships, leading Rider to a pair of team titles as a senior.

\”Our preparation, getting ready to compete and going through that was just as important as an experience as the actual meet,\” said Pasquariello. \”I was really pleased with how everyone responded.\”

Also for the men’s team, freshman Peter Wandell (State College, Pa./State College) was third in the 1,000 meter (2:33.83), senior Andre Fearon (Newark/St. Benedict\’s Prep) was fourth in the mile (4:21.10), freshman Christian Gonzalez (Somerset/Franklin Twp.) was fifth in the mile (4:22.75), freshman Chris Dollinger (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) placed fifth in the 60 meter dash (7.10) and senior Jeff Stead (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) was fifth in the 3,000 meter (8:59.27).

Also for the women’s team, sophomore Alicia Price (Voorhees/Eastern) was fourth in the weight throw (14.49m) and shot put (11.60m) and freshman Shaylah Counts (Newark/Malcoln Shabazz) was fifth in the 60 meter dash (8.18).

\”The meet is a very good meet to open with,\” Pasquariello said about the competition. \”There really are no breaks in any of the events. All of the fields were solid and gave our athletes a chance to test themselves right out of the blocks. We got a good indication from our younger athletes that they can train and compete at a high level.\”

The Broncs return to action on January 12 at the Penn State Relays.

\”We try to educate our athletes that the schedule is going to be tough and until they get out there and actually compete, it’s hard to simulate that competitive level in practice,\” Pasquariello added. \”You never know how they are going to respond until they are placed in a competitive pressure situation and again, I was very pleased with both teams.\”

-RU-

Women’s College Basketball

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game

LAWRENCEVILLE—Despite 20 points and seven rebounds from senior Janele Henderson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin), the Broncs lost to Canisius in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener for both squads Friday night in Alumni Gym. \”Canisius forced us to take some shots that we are not used to taking,\” said head coach Lynn Milligan. \”Our overall defensive effort was solid but we had a few breakdowns late and you are not going to win many games shooting under 28 percent.\”

Down by 16 points with 18 minutes remaining in the game, Rider (3-5, 0-1 MAAC) went on a 12-4 run, five points each by Henderson and sophomore Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun School) to get within seven (37-30) with 12 minutes remaining. Sepulveda finished with 16 points playing a career-high 37 minutes.

The Broncs cut the Golden Griffin lead to four at 41-37 on a Henderson three-pointer with 8:46 left but that was as close as Rider would get. Henderson had three three-pointers in the game for her fourth 20 or more point effort of the season. 

Sophomore guard Brittane Russell hit the next eight points for Canisius (4-3, 1-0 MAAC), including back to back three-pointers to put the Golden Griffins up by nine with 4:25 left. \”Russell just broke our back with those three point baskets,\” Milligan said. \”We came all the way back and then she stepped up and hit some big shots for them.\”

\”We started off slow,\” said Henderson. \”We need to play better to open games and pick it up because we are now in conference play.\”

After Rider cut the lead to five with 1:45 left, Russell made her third and final three of the game and the Golden Griffins went eight for eight from the free throw line in the final minute to put the game away, including four foul shots by Russell. Russell led Canisius with 19 points, making six for six from the charity stripe.

The Broncs shot five of 33 in the first half (15 percent) and were held under 28 percent for the game. \”I’ve never seem a half like that in my years of coaching,\” Milligan said. \”We were getting shots and we just weren’t connecting. You have to just keep running the offense and keep looking for open shots.\” After making its first field goal attempt of the game, Rider made only one more of its next 21 shots and were 2 for 22 at the eight minute mark of the first half.

\”Canisius did a great job on the defensive end,\” Milligan added. \”Every shot that we were able to take, we had to work for, using almost all of the shot clock and that took a lot out of us. Nothing was easy for us tonight on the offensive end and Canisius had a lot to do with that.\”

Rider attempted 30 from beyond the arc making nine two-pointers and nine three-pointers for the night.

\”Every look, every shot that we got, we had to work for,\” said Henderson. \”The easiest shots came early in the first half and they just didn’t go down. We had good looks and just didn’t put them in. The second half, we worked harder. A shooting night like this is going to happen from time to time but coach is right that our strong defensive effort was going to get us back into the game and it did. We just ran out of time to come back.\”

Also for the Broncs, junior Shaunice Parker (Waldorf, Md./West Lake) had 12 rebounds (five offensive) to move into a tie for 19th place on the all-time rebound list at Rider with Robin Stein who had 384 boards from 1999-2002. The Broncs held a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass however were out-rebounded by the Golden Griffins 40-37 in the game. Sophomore Ashley Anderson (East Orange) added six rebounds, three on the offensive glass in 22 minutes for Rider.

Rider jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then saw the Golden Griffins go on an 11-0 run to lead by eight with 13:42 left in the first half. Rider was held without a two-point field goal until the 3:47 mark of the first half and the Broncs trailed 29-16 at the half. 

\”We got shots in the first half and just didn’t make them,\” Milligan said. \”Our defensive effort in the first half was good, we wanted to hold Canisius to 27 and we held them to 29 so I was pleased with the effort. The shots just weren’t falling and we dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of.\”

Overall, Canisius has defeated Rider 15 times in a row and leads the series 19-5.

The Golden Griffins made six three-pointers in the game and have a three-point field goal in 397 straight games, the longest current active women’s NCAA Division I streak in the country.

Canisius broke a two-game losing streak and the Broncs have now lost three straight. \”The mind set of the team is good,\” Milligan said. \”We’ll come back fighting on Sunday against Niagara.\”

Rider hosts the Purple Eagles in a MAAC game Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm in Alumni Gym on the Lawrenceville campus. \”Niagara is similar to Canisius,\” Milligan added. \”The new head coach at Niagara is a former Canisius assistant so they do a lot of the same things. The game plan will be similar, for us to play strong defense and find a way to score.\”

-RU-

Princeton, NJ… As the lone NCAA Division III team competing at the New Year Invitational hosted by Princeton University, The College of New Jersey indoor track and field teams turned in some impressive performances as several individuals met post-season qualifying times.

Saturday’s meet was the first of the new season for the Lions.

Men’s Highlights…
Junior Pasquale DiGiacchino (Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) placed 13th in the 500 meters, but his time of 1:07.37 qualified him for the ECAC Championships in the later stages of the season.

Senior Brian Donatelli (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) placed in a pair of events for TCNJ as he claimed sixth place in the weight throw with a heave of 49’5-1/2\” and 10th in the shot put. His toss in the shot was 45’2-1/4\”.

Junior Rob McGowan (Monroe Twp., NJ/Monroe Township) took fifth in the 300 meters (36.23), while freshman Matt Rosana (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) was eighth in the long jump with a distance of 6.47 meters. Freshman Dennie Waite (Little Silver, NJ/Red Bank Regional) also recorded an eighth-place finish with a time of 9:06.25 in the 3,000.

Another freshman, Kyle Gilroy (Oak Ridge, NJ/West Milford Township), excelled in the 60-meter hurdles with a swift time of 8.68 seconds to place ninth.

Women’s Highlights…
The best event for the Lions was the 500 meters with three individuals placing in the top 20 with each of them meeting ECAC standards. Sophomore Jianna Spadaccini (Butler, NJ/Butler) was 13th in 1:20.49 and was followed by freshman Meryl Wimberly (Farmingdale, NJ/Coltsneck) in 16th place (1:21.5) and freshman Rochelle Prevard (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) in 17th place (1:21.84).

TCNJ’s top finish was in the long jump as junior Kristen Tricocci (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) was third sailing a distance of 5.30 meters. She was also 11th in the 300 meters with a time of 43.74.

Junior Martine McGrath (West Long Branch, NJ/Shore Regional) boasted an ECAC time of 10:25.44 in the 3,000 to place fourth.

The Lions also had two throwers finish in the top 10 of their respective events with freshman Sarah Wehrhan (Dodge City, KS/The Peddie School) posting a distance of 12.67 meters in the weight throw and Cristina D’Amato (Madison, NJ/Madison) recording a toss of 10.86 meters in the shot put.

-30-

source Media release

college wrestling
 

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—The Broncs lost a dual at 23^rd ranked Maryland (6-3) on Saturday afternoon. \”Maryland has a very tough team,\” said head coach Gary Taylor. \”We had quite a few wrestlers out today that we will have back for the second semester.\”

For Rider (0-3), sophomore 157 Rob Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) won by fall over Brian Letters at the 4:43 mark. Sophomore 141 Fred Rodgers (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown) lost 4-2 to Jon Kohler and junior 184 Doug Umbehauer (Shamong, N.J./Lenape) lost 2-1 to 20^th ranked Josh Haines.

\”I still have a lot to work on but I was able to get on top today and do what I do best,\” said Morrison who evened his record at 5-5. Morrison is coming off a second place finish at the Keystone Classic. \”The team results have been a little frustrating but it is still early.\”

This was the third loss to a ranked opponent for the Broncs this season with 6^th ranked Missouri and 2^nd ranked Iowa State defeating Rider in November. Maryland recently defeated Michigan which went on to win the prestigious 48-team Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

\”We schedule to prepare both for the conference and nationals,\” said Taylor. \”It’s a tough schedule and a tough thing to go through. The wrestlers have to determine how much they get out of it but I think it gives them a realistic view of how tough it is to get to and compete in the NCAA National Tournament. It has been proven in the past that this type of competition gets us ready for the conference championships and also the NCAA’s.\”

\”We still have three months to go before CAA’s and nationals,\” Morrison added. \”I just have to keep working on my mistakes, make the adjustments and prepare for March. To be able to wrestle kids of this caliber gives us an advantage down the line going into some of the tournaments. You are going to face kids that haven’t faced nearly the competition that we have and it’s a little edge that we can keep in our back pocket and see where we stand overall in the nation.\”

The Broncs are now 3-5 all-time against the Terps with Maryland winning the last two duals in the series. Maryland defeated Rider last season 25-16 in Alumni Gym.

The Broncs begin the second semester of competition at the Midlands Cham

Diana M. Finley, (nee-Digiosio) wife of the late Peter F. Finley, formerly of Audubon passed away on December 5, 2007 at the age of 80. Mrs. Finley was devoted to her loving family, her faith by attending Mass daily and her parish, St. Rose of Lima. She volunteered at the church with the school library, Visitors of Christ, House of Charity and assisted in the Religious Education Dept. and parish office.

The late Mr. Finley was a columnist for The Catholic Star Herald and also worked at the Courier Post newspaper.

Mrs. Finley is the mother of Mary (Paul) Rugarber of Haddon Heights, NJ, Peter J. (Pamela) Finley of CT, Michael F. (Peggy) Finley of FL, Diane Finley of Haddon Heights, NJ, John P. (Mary) Finley of Haddon Twp., NJ, Patrick J. (Barbara) Finley of TX and Joseph J. (Noelle) Finley of PA.

Also survived by 16 grandchildren and 3 sisters, Sister Edith Ann (Sisters of Notre Dame), Rose Follet and Mary Sexton.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her viewing on Sunday Evening 6:30-9:00 PM and Monday 8:30-9:30 AM at the FOSTER-WARNE FUNERAL HOME, 250 White Horse Pike, Audubon, NJ.

Mass of Christian Burial Monday 10 AM at the Church of St. Rose of Lima, 4th Ave & Kings Highway, Haddon Heights, NJ.

Interment Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill, NJ.

The family requests in lieu of flowers contributions be made to St. Mary\’s Catholic Home, 210 St. Mary\’s Dr., Cherry Hill, NJ 08003.

IN NJAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACTION, 75-44

 

Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team hosted the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday in Packer Hall. The NJAC opener for both teams, TCNJ would take the early lead in the conference race after posting a 75-44 win. TCNJ is now 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Newark is now 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. TCNJ’s sophomore forward Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, NJ/Academy of the Holy Angels) had a double-double adding a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.

 

TCNJ would take a 36-20 lead into the locker room after both junior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) and Gregorek had double digit performance in the half. Gregorek paced TCNJ with 13 first half points, just one off her career high, while Klimowicz had 10 points and four blocks.

 

By game’s end, Gregorek added 22 points and Klimowicz netted 12 points with five rebounds, and four blocks. Freshman forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) also had a career-day adding 17 points and seven boards for the Lions.

 

Rutgers-Newark’s senior Stephanie Ross (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) would lead her team in the first stanza with seven points, while the Scarlet Raiders would commit 12 turnovers. She finished with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, while senior guard Nerlande Nicolas (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) added 14 points.

HADAY, MICHAEL
On December 5, 2007, a long time resident of Gloucester City, NJ. Age 93 years.
Beloved husband of the late Mary (nee Glenbocki). Loving father of Barbara Keeley and her husband Gerald of Gloucester City. Devoted grandfather of Michael and Brian Keeley. Dear brother of Julia Ritter, Stephanie Glenbocki, Catherine Phillips, and Mary Rines. He was also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Mr. Haday was a longtime and devoted parishioner of St. Mary\’s Church in Gloucester where he served as an Usher for over 40 years.
Relatives and friends are invited to meet Monday morning from 11:00am to 12:00noon at the ETHERINGTON-CRERAN FUNERAL HOME, 700 Powell St., Gloucester City. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 12:30pm at St. Mary\’s Church, 426 Monmouth St., Gloucester City. Interment in New St. Mary\’s Cemetery to follow. There will be no evening viewing. In lieu of flowers the family has requested memorial donations in Mr. Haday\’s name be made to St. Mary\’s Church at the above address.

Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team hosted the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday in Packer Hall. The contest marked the NJAC opener for both teams as well as the Lions’ first home game of the 2007-2008 season. Rutgers-Newark would come away with a 59-53 win to improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC, while TCNJ drops to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference. Sophomore guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit) would net a game-high 13 points in leading his team to the win after adding some key free throws in the final seconds of the game.

After a series of lead changes, Rutgers-Newark would take a 28-24 lead into the locker room as senior forward Derryck Alexander (Lakewood, NJ/Lakewood) paced the Scarlet Raiders with eight points in the first half. He also had five first half boards as RUN struggled from three-point arch, shooting just 28.6% (2-7). By game’ end, he would finish with 12 points, while Johnson added 10 second half points in lifting his team to the win.

TCNJ’s scoring output in the first half was extremely balanced as four players had five points, including senior co-captain, forward Mark Aziz (Hackettstown, NJ/West Morris Central), who had six first half rebounds for the Lions. Aziz led the Lions in the contest with 11 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guards William Jett (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) added a season-high 10 points in the contest.

In the opening minutes of the second half, RUN’s junior guard Chadd Barnes (Newark, NJ/University), a 2006-2007 NJAC All-Star First Team honoree and the team’s top scorer, went down with an injury and was lost for the rest of the contest. Barnes had six points and four rebounds in his 19 minutes of work, down from his 18.8 ppg average.

Down the stretch the Lions would pull with in three points, down 53-50 with 3:50 left to play. RUN would take a 57-50 lead before TCNJ added buckets including a three-pointer by sophomore Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) at 1:12 to keep the Lions within four, 57-53. Sophomore guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit) would hit one of two free throws down the stretch at 18.2 seconds and another free throw at 8.1 second to give RUN a 59-53 lead.

Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey\’s Athletic Department was recognized on November 27 for winning the second New Jersey Athletic Conference Blood Drive Challenge, sponsored by the American Red Cross.

 

Members of the American Red Cross Staff were on hand to present interim athletic director, John Castaldo with a trophy for winning the event at halftime of the Lions\’ women\’s basketball game with Moravian College. Over the course of the 2006-2007 academic year, members of TCNJ\’s community donated 497 units of blood, top amongst the six NJAC schools that participated in the blood drives last year. That is enough blood to save as many as 1,491 hospital patient.

 

TCNJ, Rowan University, Rutgers University-Camden, Montclair State University, Rutgers University-Newark, and Richard Stockton College all participated in the blood drive challenge and combined to donate 1,761 units of blood which conversely saved hundreds of different lives last year.

 

TCNJ\’s athletic director John Castaldo said, \”\”The athletic department teaming up with the campus community in a collaborative effort to produce a successful blood drive campaign is extremely satisfying.\” Castaldo added, \”Winning the NJAC Challenge two years in row is a rewarding feeling, however the ultimate goal of this program was simply to help others in need. TCNJ\’s athletic department and the campus community are proud to have played a positive role in this venture.\”

 

 

 

 

Pictured in the photo are left to right:

Robyn Biskup, American Red Cross College Key Account Manager, Bob Kessler, American Red Cross Director of Donor Recruitment, TCNJ Interim Athletic Director John Castaldo, Carol Field, American Red Cross Account Manager.