Sectional Preview - Girls South Jersey

GIRLS SOUTH JERSEY
Saturday, February 4 at Laurel Lanes, Maple Shade

New for 2017
Southern, Cherry Hill East, Lenape, Pennsauken Tech and Point Pleasant Boro entered this year,; they hadn't in 2016. Burlington Township and Lacey dropped from G3 to G2. Westampton Tech jumped from G2 to G3. Cherry Hill West and Camden Tech dropped from G4 to G3.  Delran participated in 2016 but did not enter this year.

Ranked Teams Participating:
(deep breath) #1 Brick Memorial (G4), #3 Brick Township (G3), #5 Manchester Township (G2), #6 Toms River North (G4), #8 Toms River South (G3), #9 Lacey (G2), #11 Eastern (G4), #17 Washington Township (G4), #18 Central (G3), "Next 10" Southern (G4), "Next 10" Barnegat (G2), "Next 10" Gloucester Tech (G3)

GROUP I
defending champ: Bishop Eustace
Donovan Catholic spent the season competing with some very good teams teams in Shore South B, as well as competing in several tournaments.  Despite being the only G1 contender with a losing record, the numbers say they're the favorite here.  The Griffins boast the highest GA (136) and a very respectable T5 (704, #42 in the state).  Two starters, Marissa Mey and Elizabeth Schucht, average 162, and the lineup doesn't dip below 125.  In a Group I environment where many programs have trouble fielding a full team every match, Donovan has plenty of firepower to get it done.

There are three more prime contenders for a TOC spot here, and they all have nearly the same numbers. Brianna Biesiada leads New Egypt with a 159 average.  The Warriors have gone 45-15 in regular season matches and have broken 2000 five times.  Collingswood has also had an excellent regular season: 47-17, with a high series of 2079.  Deja Marie Jackmon has had a very solid year for the Panthers, averaging 153.  Then we have Maple Shade: 45-23, and a good lineup that looks much better with the recent emergence of Freshman Dakota DeNoto.  I'm not going to pretend to know which of these three is most likely to have a great day and earn a trip to Bowlero; it truly could be any of them.

And we've got to put Bordentown in that group as well.  The Scotties' numbers are a little lower than the other contenders, but they shot 2215 in a win two weeks ago, which is a higher total than any of the others (aside from Donovan) have shot all season.  Respectable sixth place finish at the Olympic tournament, too. Bordentown put a huge number of bowlers in matches this year (which is great), and that can depress the team average.  A few bowlers, like basketball star Morgan Papp, seem to be peaking at the right time.  I think this is a a very strong dark horse.

The remaining teams are less likely to contend for the top five.  Defending champ Bishop Eustace, Gloucester City, Cinnaminson, Holy Cross, Lindenwold, Pennsauken Tech and Salem all carry numbers just a step below the contenders.


GROUP II
defending champ: Manchester Township
One of my favorite rivalries is renewed in the sectional.  Defending state champ #5 Manchester Township won Shore South B with a few games to spare behind a lineup with no weak spots: Hawks starters Theresa Bedaro (186 average), Kimberly Wolf (182), MacKenzie Weber (178), Victoria Shaw (170) and Victoria Smith (167) are young, talented, and tournament-tested with top-5 finishes at Indians, Brick & CJWC.  Bedaro shot 720 at the Brick, Wolf has posted 644 and Weber 670, so if they need high individual scores to win, that club is in their bag.  It's their belt to lose.

But #9 Lacey is coming for them.  Manchester took all three regular season meetings, outscored them by 51 at the Shore Conference event, and have better numbers across the board, but Lacey has had their moments.  The Lions were fantastic at the Snowball, shooting a 4-game 3572 for 6th place.  Autumn Laird shot some big numbers and finished with a 180 average, which is followed by Liz Schreier's 178 and Claudia Schreier's 170.  And in the last regular season match, Lacey put up a team record 2764.  They're underdogs in the sectional, but definite favorites to advance to North Brunswick.

That very strong Top 2 may leave two nearly as strong teams from Barnegat and West Deptford at home for states. Barnegat finished 3rd in Shore South B, and the Bengals have a solid top bowler in Alyssa Pilovsky. West Deptford is right with Barnegat statistically, and had a fantastic regular season, going 39-5 (against an admittedly easier schedule). I have limited numbers on the Eagles, but I believe their best is Shelby Monaghan, averaging around 161.  Both Barnegat and WD have broken 2300 this season, a total that could potentially spring an upset if one of the top contenders struggles.

Pemberton doesn't have the numbers to realistically make a run at Manchester and Lacey, but I have to give them credit for a fantastic regular season: the Hornets went 16-1/57-11.

Shea Balmann of Pinelands has the ability to make it into the individual qualifiers, but her team, along with Burlington Township, Seneca, Deptford, Medford Tech, Lakewood, and Point Pleasant Boro, are not quite yet on the level needed to contend.

GROUP III
defending champ: Toms River South
Last year, Toms River South pulled off possibly the biggest upset of the postseason by beating out Brick Township (who went on to win the State GIII title and the TOC) for the Sectional championship.  Can they do it again?  It's possible. #8 Toms River South is brimming with talent, led by Natalie Swindell, who's averaging 185 and placed 2nd at the Brick.  Ciani Sanchez has put up some big numbers that belie her 174 average.  Behind those two are 5 bowlers all averaging 154+, led by Gabby Damato, so a strategy to mix-n-match and ride the hot hand to maximize their potential could help narrow the gap for the Indians. They've gone as high as 2840 this season, so while they're clearly underdogs by the numbers, another big upset wouldn't be a huge shock.

But it would be a significant surprise, because #3 Brick Township is fantastic.  Again.  They're 3rd behind Brick Memorial and Warren Hills in virtually everything, including GA (182.7) and T5 (918). The Dragons have a fantastic tournament resume, including winning the Wheeler, 3rd at CJWC & James, beating out Memorial as top qualifier at the TRS tournament, and qualifying a very close second at the Shore Conference tournament. Caylin Ryan (194), Victoria Gray (190, first at TRS) and Julianna Forbes (187, first at Wheeler) are an impressive top 3, while Emily Silber and Cristy Sharkey are both very good (and average over 170).  And they might even be getting better: Monday's huge 2963 (and sweep of TRN) was their top effort on the season.

Chasing Brick and TRS as a talented underdog in a tough spot is nothing new to #18 Central. The Golden Eagles did it all season in Shore South A, and unfortunately they're in that spot again in the postseason.  Central is a good, accomplished squad who has shot as high as 2598 and is led by Laura Oliver, who has been as productive as anyone on the higher rated teams all season.  Unfortunately, the gap between #2 and #3 in this grouping is probably a little too big to bridge.

Jackson Liberty is similar to Central,but Jasmine Brodowski has a proven ability to score in tournaments, finishing 3rd at the Brick.  Gloucester Tech had an awesome season in the Olympic, going 16-0 / 63-1; Carla Hansen & Kami Delorenzo have a shot ad advancing as individuals, but even the Cheetahs #25 T5 in the state probably isn't enough to catch the competition here.  Pennsauken's Michelle Bello is definitely capable of making noise; she shot 753 a few weeks ago and was the top bowler at the incredibly deep Snowball Classic.

Toms River East, Cherry Hill West, Northern Burlington, Westampton Tech, Hammonton, and Camden Tech round out the field.

GROUP IV
defending champ: Brick Memorial
It begins and ends with Brick Memorial, the #1 team in NJ.  It usually does.  Who else could average 197 per girl per game a year after losing THREE all-state level seniors?  This year's edition may not have the complete dominance over all others that some recent teams had (witness two losses to Warren Hills in tournaments), but their numbers are much, much better than anyone else. Jill Stuart (205 average), Amada Shelters (202, 2 tournament top 5s), Sarah Pitcher (200) and Tori Bird (197) are constants, and any of the four could shoot 650+ on any given day.  the fifth spot is a toss up between Rachel Katz and Veronica Lewis, both averaging in the 180s, and either of whom would be the star on about 110 other NJ teams.  I lost count on their 3000 series (at least 11.  The rest of NJ?  one.)  A trip to the TOC?  Yeah, I think that's probably a good bet.

#6 Toms River North has been a great story.  All underclassmen and led by the best freshman bowler in recent memory, Kamerin Peters (215 average and an even more impressive list of individual tournament achievements).  The reason they're ranked so highly isn't just Peters: it's the steady, season-long improvement of the rest of the lineup.  Elena Patestos & Kennedy Pfeifer have pulled their averages up to the mid 150s, and MacKenzie Dudas and Cassidy Syrdale are legitimate threats to throw a number big enough to advance as individuals (Syrdale shot 614 in the regular season finale).  The future is obviously bright for the Mariners, but it's just as obvious that the future may well be now.

#11 Eastern is a very good team with a couple of very good bowlers, Kristina Scimone (181 average) and Anna Hileman (174), who had a very good regular season (43-5) and showed themselves capable of putting up a very good set (excellent season high of 2678).  The question is whether "very good" will be enough to outscore TRN for that 2nd slot at Bowlero.  The Vikings did it last year, upsetting Jackson Memorial, and while the season-long numbers are against them, Eastern has outscored TRN at two different tournaments: CJWC and Snowball.  This might be the best battle of the day.

And that battle may well include #17 Washington Township.  This is a cool team: nobody is going to grab headlines by shooting 650, but Patricia O'Neill, Shannon O'Neill, Diana Chan and Sarah Forsman all average right about 160 and they have improved as a group all season long. The Minutemen (Minutewomen?) peaked with a 2602 set in a win over Eastern on January 19.  I'm saying there's a chance.

Southern has decent numbers (#20 in T5), but it would take a huge improvement on their season-best to be competitive here. Ashley Hess has the ability to make an individual run.

Jackson Memorial and Kingsway, as teams, are a few steps below the contenders, but each has an outstanding individual with State Individual TOC aspirations: Kingsway's Katie Robb (averaging 201) and Jackson Memorial's Aimee Sherman, an FDU signee carrying an absurd 214 average who's wrapping up a truly fantastic high school career.

Egg Harbor, Atlantic Tech, Shawnee, Cherry Hill East and Lenape complete the list of Group IV entries.

INDIVIDUALS
There are 2 entries from Cedar Creek listed.  One, I'm sure, is Sarah Florence, who made the cut at the South Jersey singles with a 604 set, but I have to apologize for not knowing who the other girl is.  Will update when somebody lets me know.