Roses Report: Basketball Teams at the Top

The basketball teams at St. Rose have had quite the seasons thus far and that has allowed them to earn the top seeds in the state tournament later this month. Both will receive a bye into the quarterfinals and hope to add a state title to their already impressive resumes.

They weren't the only team to enjoy some good news as the wrestling team made history of their own.

Let's get to this week's Roses Report.

Boys Basketball
The Purple Roses were awarded the top seed on the Non-Public South B State Tournament. With the top seed, the Roses earned a bye into the quarterfinals and will await the winner between eighth-seed Moorestown Friends and ninth-seed Sacred Heart of Vineland.

Even with the top seed, the Roses still had games to play. On Saturday, the Roses topped Mater Dei, 63-32. Mark Kukoda had a game-high 21 points. Andrew Kurtz and Brandon Carroll each had 12 points.

On Thursday, the Roses downed Keansburg, 59-45. Kurtz had a game-high 17 points and Kukoda finished with 15 points.

Girls Basketball
It was a rather normal week in the life of the girls basketball team.

A 75-46 win over Mater Dei kicked things off on Monday. Samantha Clark had a game-high 28 points for the team. Diana Malanga scored 14 points and Nicole Donahue added 12 points.

On Thursday, the Lady Roses dropped Keansburg, 57-13.

In addition to the two wins, the team received the top seed in Non-Public South B. Like the boys side, they received a bye into the quarterfinals. They will play the winner of the game between eighth-seeded St. Joseph, Hammonton and ninth-seeded Mater Dei.

Wrestling
After a 58-12 loss to Monmouth Regional last Friday, the Purple Roses made history that will not soon be forgotten.

Head coach Kurt Pellegrino has turned the wrestling program into a respectable one around the area in just a short amount of time. Wrestling in the first round of the Non-Public South B State Tournament, the Roses defeated Monsignor Donovan, 39-36. It was the first state tournament win in the program's history.

A pin by Sean Hoban at 103-pounds clinched the victory and put the team in the record books. Jimmy Syzmanski, Connor Northrup, Christian Bozinos, Nick Greenquist, Dylan Seip, Kevin Holt and Ian Nugent also scored points for the team.

The win put the team in the group semifinals against second-seeded Bishop Eustace. A solid effort by the team's middleweights wasn't quite enough and they fell, 41-28. Bozinos, Greenquist, Seip, Holt, Nugent and Shayne Smith scored points for the Roses.

Ice Hockey
The Roses tied Red Bank Regional, 4-4, last Friday night. William Regan finished with two goals and an assist and Donald Duddy added a goal to help the Roses earn a point.

On Monday, the team lost to Pope John, 7-0.

Upcoming Schedule
Sat: Boys Basketball vs. Manasquan, Girls Basketball @ Manasquan and Wrestling @ Union
Sun: Girls Basketball @ The Potter's House
Mon: No games scheduled
Tue: No games scheduled
Wed: No games scheduled
Thu: No games scheduled
Fri: Ice Hockey vs. Paul VI