Paramus Catholic senior Lilly Sigona had the highest girls bowling average in the Big North this season. (Record File Photo)
The Aces’ three-part series of final bowling standings continues, and as a reminder, here is the planned schedule for blog entries this week:
Tuesday — NJIC co-ed standings
TODAY — Big North girls standings
Thursday — Big North boys standings
Friday — Season review, major tournament edition
I made a couple small corrections in the NJIC stats, which should now be fully accurate. With the Big North, the coaches once again employed their fantastic spreadsheet on Google Docs to organize all the standings and bowler averages for the season, and Taglines has cross-checked those numbers thoroughly as well. There were a few instances here and there where one team entered a score from a non-divisional match but its opponent did not, but all of the divisional scores looked ship-shape, so they are listed below.
Again, the Big North bowls 3-game, 7-point matches, and the points are what count toward the division standings. Overall points records are provided in the far right column for reference…
FINAL 2014-15 BIG NORTH GIRLS BOWLING STANDINGS
| UNITED DIVISION | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Paramus Catholic | 24-4 | 3-1 | 70-14 |
| Holy Angels | 16-12 | 3-1 | 71-27 |
| Immaculate Heart | 2-26 | 0-4 | 25-45 |
Analysis: Paramus Catholic recorded 7-0 sweeps in all three of its United wins, and its lone loss was by a 4-3 count to Holy Angels, hence the disparity in points. And it’s worth mentioning that PC senior Lilly Sigona not only led the division in average, but also the entire Big North Conference — and she did so with tendonitis in her throwing elbow basically all year, wearing a compression sleeve to combat the issue. She told me that wearing the extra gear prompted someone to refer to her as “Iron Manâ€, which isn’t technically accurate. Then again, neither is “Iron Womanâ€, since the Haskell/Wanaque resident bears little resemblance to Robert Downey Jr.
High game: Sigona, 263
High series: Sigona, 647
Top 3 averages: 1. Sigona (PC), 188.7; 2. Kristen Kane (PC), 173.6; 3. Tiffany Sucero (Holy Angels), 166.0.
Division Coach of the Year: Brian Greppo (Paramus Catholic)
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| LIBERTY DIVISION | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Clifton | 61-9 | 9-1 | 82-16 |
| Bergen Tech | 58-12 | 8-2 | 79-33 |
| Passaic | 34-36 | 5-5 | 41-57 |
| Passaic Tech | 30-40 | 4-6 | 30-96 |
| Eastside | 27-43 | 4-6 | 27-71 |
| Kennedy | 0-70 | 0-10 | 0-84 |
Analysis: Interesting quirk in the Liberty — champ Clifton actually had the No. 2 four-bowler average (496) behind runner-up Bergen Tech (533), but guess what? Aside from the season split between those two, the Mustangs swept everybody else they faced in the division, 7-0, to clinch their title. Clifton is a team that not too long ago dominated Passaic County, winning 14 of the first 15 Passaic girls tournaments contested (1997 to 2011). Following a few “off yearsâ€, the team was second in the county again this year and fielded five underclassmen, including sophomore anchor Gabriella Pangaro… and I definitely believe we haven’t seen the last of her.
High game: Pangaro, 232
High series: Pangaro, 577
Top 3 averages: 1. Pangaro (Clifton), 169.9; 2. Aimee Balleza (Bergen Tech), 155.8; 3. Olivia Wank (Bergen Tech), 151.6.
Division Coach of the Year: Brian Small (Clifton)
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| FREEDOM DIVISION | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Paramus | 70-0 | 10-0 | 105-14 |
| Northern Highlands | 47-23 | 7-3 | 68-37 |
| Hackensack | 43-27 | 6-4 | 57-41 |
| Indian Hills | 31-39 | 4-6 | 38-60 |
| Ramapo | 15-55 | 3-7 | 17-74 |
| Ridgewood | 4-66 | 0-10 | 11-94 |
Analysis: Paramus followed up its first-ever title in 2013-14 by compiling its first undefeated season in the division this winter. The coaches’ Google Doc has the Spartans’ final record at 105-7, but they did have one final match against top-ranked Westwood on Feb. 11 and fell, 7-0. No matter, the team regrouped nicely from the graduation of All-North Jersey first-teamer Brittany Hovan thanks to seniors Katie Gengler (161 average) and Tara Lucas (142), plus step-sisters Jenai Bacote (146) and Haley Hassan (see below), both of whom should be back next year. Northern Highlands also lost some talent to graduation last year but bounced back to take second place.
High game: Gengler, 247
High series: Gengler, 624
Top 3 averages: 1. Haley Hassan (Paramus), 177.6; 2. Janina Santoro (Hackensack), 175.5; 3. Allison Woodhouse (NH) 165.5.
Division Coach of the Year: Jon Morrisette (Paramus)
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| INDEPENDENCE DIV. | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Wayne Valley | 42-0 | 6-0 | 98-0 |
| Fair Lawn | 22-20 | 3-3 | 53-31 |
| Wayne Hills | 13-29 | 2-4 | 41-57 |
| Lakeland | 7-35 | 1-5 | 32-66 |
Analysis: After finishing second by a handful of points last winter, Wayne Valley left no doubt this time around, winning all 14 of its conference matches via sweep. The Indians even swept the top four spots on the division’s high average list, which means Marissa Luzzi (156.4) warrants a mention here if not in the “official†Top 3. Luzzi, Dawn Hansen, Jessica Whiteside and Katie Mulligan were the seniors that helped power WV to its Triple Crown of league, county and state-sectional titles. AND the girls with the two highest averages, junior Kristine Verbeke and sophomore Claudine Rosca, should be back to help keep things rolling next season.
High game: Rosca, 233
High series: Rosca, 603
Top 3 averages: 1. Verbeke (WV), 170.2; 2. Rosca (WV), 162.4; 3. Hansen (WV), 160.2.
Division Coach of the Year: Jason Wilke (Wayne Valley)
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| NATIONAL DIV. | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Demarest | 52-18 | 8-2 | 80-32 |
| Teaneck | 47-23 | 7-3 | 52-32 |
| Tenafly | 34-36 | 5-5 | 41-50 |
| Old Tappan | 28-42 | 4-6 | 49-49 |
| Bergenfield | 28-42 | 4-6 | 32-73 |
| Pascack Valley | 21-49 | 2-8 | 33-72 |
Analysis: We had a chance to touch on Demarest’s breakout season in/on The Record/northjersey.com last month, and since the Norsewomen waited so long to capture a title, let’s give them another round of kudos here. They were fourth last year but won seven straight National matches after a 1-1 start, including a 5-2 decision over 2013-14 champ Teaneck. The Highwaywomen prevailed in the teams’ final meeting on Jan. 28, although by that time, the changing of the guard was complete. Top to bottom, this probably was the most competitive division in the Big North, and it also offered an interesting anomaly: Pascack Valley was involved in not one, but two matches that ended in 6-1 scores (versus Demarest and Tenafly), meaning the Indians tied one of the three games in the match. TWICE. Sure, they wound up on the short end both times, but hey, every point counts.
High game: Sarah Clements (Old Tappan), 212
High series: Gail Kelly (Teaneck), 545
Top 3 averages: 1. Kelly (Teaneck), 152.6; 2. Monica Hsu (Demarest), 147.8; 3. Clements (OT), 145.5.
Division Coach of the Year: Damon Affinito (Demarest)
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| PATRIOT DIVISION | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Westwood | 54-2 | 8-0 | 110-9 |
| Mahwah | 40-16 | 6-2 | 87-32 |
| Pascack Hills | 20-36 | 2-6 | 31-53 |
| River Dell | 19-37 | 3-5 | 37-61 |
| Ramsey | 7-49 | 1-7 | 17-81 |
Analysis: Much has been written about two-time reigning Patriot champ Westwood. I have a feeling even more may be written in the coming week. But as far as this category goes, the Cardinals won all eight of their divisional matches for the second consecutive season, and only a 4-3 loss to Paramus Catholic on Jan. 9 prevented their second straight unbeaten campaign (they were 15-0 overall last year, 16-1 this year). Oh by the way, Westwood had the top six averages in this division. SIX! The next-highest averages belonged to Allison Ariemma (142.7) and Kristen Mihok (142.3) of Mahwah, the 2012-13 division champ and runner-up the past two years. The Thunderbirds went 13-4 overall this winter, and their only losses were to Westwood (twice), PC and Holy Angels, all teams ranked in The Record Top 5… this is easily the best three-year stretch the T-Birds’ program has ever enjoyed.
High game: Marissa Rivers (Westwood), 258
High series: Rivers, 635
Top 3 averages: 1. Rivers (Westwood), 186.1; 2. Rebecca Davies (Westwood), 169.4; 3. Kristen Benavente (Westwood), 168.4.
Division Coach of the Year: Dan Rattasca (Westwood)
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| AMERICAN DIV. | Div. Points | Div. W-L | Overall Pts. |
| Ridgefield Park | 35-7 | 5-1 | 64-27 |
| Dumont | 27-15 | 4-2 | 60-31 |
| Cliffside Park | 16-26 | 3-3 | 31-67 |
| Fort Lee | 6-36 | 0-6 | 11-87 |
Analysis: One team I wish I’d gotten to write a little bit more about this season is American champ Ridgefield Park… oh look, here’s some space! The Scarlets somewhat quietly put together a real strong season, reaching the quarterfinals of the Bergen County tournament and finishing third in Group 2 at the North sectional. Their best bowler was sophomore anchor Danielle Quitola, who moved from Hackensack before the school year began and fit right into the lineup. Senior Cara Schreiber had her best series in the final month of the season and will leave the team in capable hands, with juniors Natalie Armstrong and Alessandra Wojicki and sophomore Melissa Lewandowski set to return alongside Quitola (man, some great Scrabble names there — makes “Tartaglia†look like “catâ€).
High game: Quitola, 255
High series: Quitola, 612
Top 3 averages: 1. Quitola (RP), 178.2; 2. Gianni Calzadilla (Cliffside Park), 155.3; 3. Yenelly Garcia (Dumont), 141.3.
Division Coach of the Year: Melissa Iannacone (Ridgefield Park)
One quick note on the aforementioned Gianni Calzadilla of Cliffside Park: At sectionals, the freshman was three pins away from becoming the first Red Raider girl to qualify for the state singles finals. I recall a similar fate befell Nicolette Brenner a few years ago, though she was a senior at the time. Calzadilla will have three more shots at it, plus some motivation to spare. Hee hee — get it? Bowling? Spare? …oh, come on, I went a whole blog without pointing out obvious puns, which is basically a Taglines record. One won’t make your head hurt that much.
—GT