Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 17

Daily Record, Morris County, N.J. Monday, February 19, 1996 LOCAL SPORTSB2 COLLEGE BASKETBALLB3 NBA, NHLB4 BY THE NUMBERSB5 Roxbery finishes 3rd in Group IV Milford, 40-18. West Milford came into the day with only one loss. "I thought our entire team came here and put on a nice performance," Roxbury coach Buddy Fre-und said. "Highland is one of the best, if not the best, teams in the Wrestling state.

I'm proud that we came here and won three matches and were relatively close in three others. We knew coming here that beating Highland was a monumental task. But we still came here with the idea to wrestle to win and I thought we did that." Roxbury's top individual performer on the day was 215-pound Elliot Williams (25-1), who cemented his status as a state contender when he decisively beat Highland's highly regarded Dave Hale, 8-2. Hale came into yester Division by scoring a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Pingry. The Green Wave is no stranger to Mennen Cup championships, having won or shared the title nine of the past 10 seasons.

Delbarton did not beat Chatham in three meetings (0-2-1) this season. "Winning first place really doesn't give us an edge," said Delbarton coach Brian Day, whose team will meet the winner of tonight's Pin-See MENNEN B3 KAREN MANCINELLIDaily Record Roxbury's Matt DelPreore, top, controls Shawn Chando of Highland Regional during their 145-pound match yesterday. DelPreore won by a technical fall, 18-3. Cup offers Chatham a chance at redemption Mennen by Dan Breeman Daily Record Can Chatham rebound from its first loss and an unexpected tumble into second place in the Mennen Division on the final day of the regular season? Can Delbarton its 10th title in the past 11 years? Will Pingry pull another upset and reach the final again? These questions and more will be answered beginning tonight when the 21st-annual Mennen Cup day's Roxbury match with a 22-3 record and placed third in the state tournament last year. "Elliot obviously beat a very good kid," Freund said.

"He wrestled perhaps their best kid. He demonstrated that he has the ability to wrestle and beat a quality 215- pounder." Freund had questions regarding where to wrestle Williams in next week's district tournament. If Williams remains in his natural 189-pound class, he'd be a runaway favorite to win the district. But then he'd find himself in the same region as returning state third-place finisher Marc DeFrancisco of Phillipsburg, considered by most to be a strong early line favorite to win the state championship. Another tough potential foe for Williams in the regions at 189 would be Warren Hills' Brian See GAELS B2 Today's games AT MENNEN ARENA 4:15 p.m.

Chatham (11-1-4) vs. Randolph (10-3-4) 6:15 Morris Knolls (9-9-1) vs. Hanover Regional 1 1 -7-4) 8:15 Pingry (7-7-3) vs. Morristown-Beard (15-5-0) NOTES: Hanover Regional beat Morris Knolls, 6-4, last month. The Pingry vs.

Morristown-Beard winner will meet Delbarton on Thursday. top-seeded Rams, 40-32, in Saturday's semifinal. The Golden Eagles had dropped the two previous meetings by an average of 20.5 points. "It was a great embarrassment to us to lose twice by what we did," Merle said. "We wanted to prove ourselves.

We knew we could play better than that." DiMaria scored 15 points to lead the Golden Eagles on Saturday, despite bruising her thigh early in the first quarter. Merle said she would probably keep DiMaria out of regular sea son games this week against Morristown and Roxbury in an attempt to get her ready for the final. Friday's game will pit Morris Knolls' size advantage against the speed of Mendham (18-2), the third seed. The teams haven't met during the regular season. "In terms of size, we don't matchup with them very well at all," Mendham coach Fred Corona said.

"It'll be a tough game in that respect, but that's not an unusual occurence for us, because we're not a big team. We've seen other teams like them, but probably not as talented as they are." See GIRLS B2 Morris Knolls takes final shot at crown Future looks bright for Hanover Park Morris County Hockey League following its 5-3 loss to Morris Knolls on the final day of the regular season. The defeat not only knocked the Cougars from the unbeaten ranks but also allowed Delbarton to overtake them for first place in the Mennen Division. The Green Wave received a first-round bye. "Our goal is still the Mennen Cup," said Chatham coach Harvey Cohen, who coached Chatham Township to its last Mennen Cup title in 1981.

"If we learned some 1 rail I I hockey tournament gets under way with three quarterfinal-round games, starting at 4:15 p.m. at Mennen Arena in Morris Township. The single-elimination tournament will continue on Thursday night with the semifinal round games slated for 5:45 and 7:45. The two survivors will meet in the championship game on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. For Chatham (11-1-4), the tournament offers a chance to reclaim its status as the top team in the stantly.

The Hornets used 10 of their 12 players on the roster while constantly switching defenses. Keeping fresh legs on the long and wide CCM court may have helped the Hornets in some instances and hurt them in others. "Sometimes, you. could tell they got messed up," said Mendham's Peter Lieberwirth. "When it happened, it worked to our advantage." Mendham starting guard Scott Hollingshead and reserve Jeff Day played major roles in two momentum-swinging plays in the third BY JOE HOFMANN Daily Record MIDDLETOWN TWP.

The red-hot Roxbury wrestling team finally met its match yesterday in Group IV. But the Gaels shouldn't feel too bad: When comes to the All-Groups, powerful Highland Regional presents big problems for everybody. 'The Tartans annually one of New Jersey's top programs won the first seven matches in their state Group IV semifinal and handed Roxbury a 57-14 defeat. Highland wound up beating host school Middletown North for its third straight Group IV title and ninth state championship since the All-Group format began in 1982. The trip to Monmouth County wasn't a totaj waste for the Gaels (13-6).

In the third-place match, Roxbury rebounded froni the Highland loss to soundly defeat West lessons from the loss to Knolls, then it was worth it. It does take some of the pressure off, but it doesn't make it any easier." The Cougars will open the tournament in today's 4:15 game when they are challenged by Haas Division champion Randolph. The teams did not meet during the regular season. The co-favorite to capture the Mennen Cup title is Delbarton (11-6-2), which slipped past Chatham and into first place in the Mennen )IWJIIiJl Limited Offer with This Ad Only ft L.V ri vj By Mike battaglino Daily Record The seniors on Morris Knolls' girls basketball team are making the most of their last chance. The underclassmen who dominate Mendham's club are doing their best with their latest opportunity.

The Golden Eagles and Minute-men will meet Friday night in the Morris County Tournament final at Mount Olive High School. It's a rematch of the 1994 final, won by Mendham as the first of its back-to-back titles. MKiKHiHHH mmmmlm quarter that BOYS ad an impact in the Minute- men's victory. With 3:36 Morris Knolls MCJ seniors Kate Agnello, Jessica BASKETBALL DiMaria and BY MARK KlTCHIN Daily Record RANDOLPH Although Hanover Park lost to Mendham, 59-55, in Saturday's Morris County Tournament semifinal, don't be surprised if the Hornets make it back to the final four again next year. Guards Justin Cerrato and Dave Giordano, center John Davidovich and forward Marshall Covert are all juniors.

Eight of the 12 players on Hanover Park's roster are underclassmen. Of the 55 points scored Iby the Hornets in the semifinal, '35 were made by players who should be back next year. The young Hornets did a credible job, considering they didn't have an opportunity to shoot in the County College of Morris gym until an hour before the game. "The kids played well," Hanover Park coach Vincent Capano said. "I thought it was an even game.

"I thought we rebounded against Mendham a little this time around. "It was a special experience for these kids. They know that not many teams go through this." Hanover Park substituted con- mmmmmm MCT PA5KETBALL V- Becky Hall were sophomores on the Golden Eagles' previous finalists, who dropped a 36-34 decision to the Minutemen. Current head coach Elissa Merle was then an assistant to Dan Benz. They all remember that setback, and last year's overtime loss to Morris Hills that knocked them out in the quarterfinals.

"We realize that we've come close, but not close enough," Merle said. "They've been focused on the MCT all season. That's been our main goal all year." Morris Knolls (17-4), the fourth seed, avenged two defeats to Randolph this season by topping the remaining in the quarter, Hanover Park had taken a 33-29 lead when Hollingshead spotted up for a 3-pointer to cut Mendham's deficit back to one. Day's play came with the help of a blocked shot by Ian Gaffhey. With seconds remaining in the quarter, Gaffhey got a hand on a shot by Covert.

Gaffney retrieved the ball and found an outlet man at mid-court, who hit Day while he was streaking to the basket. The junior guard coolly drove to the hoop and hit a layup just as the buzzer sounded to give Mendham a See BOYS B3 KAREN MANCINELLIDaily Record Hanover Park's Mike Lennox, shown in the MCT semifinals against Mendham, is a senior on a team loaded with underclassmen. "33 YEARS OF SALES AND SERVICE IN MORRIS COUNTY" 8. ALL fVlMIS AR AND TRUCKS. 11 PDE3STrC3BEPBE3G JVA 2J-EK3aDR 1TOW0IS3S CAR E3EI TAILS AUABLABLE.