Monday, March 7, 2011
Young Bridgemen group grows through course of an unusual season.
With all winter sports seasons having concluded, Fort Lee Patch now takes an in-depth look at how each team fared over the past few months. With the third of five installments, the season in review segment continues with the story of the Bridgemen wrestling team. From last year to this season, Fort Lee had to endure the loss of 10 graduating seniors. The Bridgemen called it a “rebuilding year,” but head coach Alex Almeyda preached confidence in the 2010-2011 season. "My expectations are always high," coach said before the year started. "We did lose a lot but we can hold our own with anybody. It's just a matter of believing." So with almost a dozen vacancies in the starting lineup, the Bridgemen had more openings for underclassmen to …
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Coach Ziemba: "The young excuse is no longer there."
Sophomore guard Nick Gentile and freshman guard Josh Ford combined to score 38 points for the Bridgemen on Saturday. On most days, that would result in a Fort Lee victory. That day was not today however. On Saturday, the Garfield Boilermakers benefited from a fast-paced basketball game and sound rebounding as they defeated the Fort Lee Bridgemen 70-61. Garfield started the afternoon on a 6-0 run as Fort Lee committed a pair of turnovers. The Bridgemen were unable to rebound in the early going as the Boilermakers established a nine point lead in the first quarter. “We had a very good practice yesterday so I am surprised that we came out that way,” said Bridgemen head coach John Ziemba. As Fort Lee continued to be out-rebounded, Ziemba …
Monday, January 10, 2011
It was an emotional night for the Dumont head coach in his return to Fort Lee.
Ken MacIver was an assistant coach with the Fort Lee Bridgemen for the last three seasons. During that time he fulfilled the role of mentor, coach and driving instructor to some of Fort Lee's wrestlers and is even the godfather of coach Alex Almeyda’s son. But Monday culminated in a new role for MacIver as he was now the opponent of Fort Lee in a make-up wrestling match from last Friday’s snowstorm. MacIver returned to his alma mater this year as the head coach of the Dumont Huskies program and entered the contest with a little more than just wrestling on his mind. “I wouldn’t have left Alex and the boys unless it was my high school,” an emotional MacIver said shortly after the match. “I knew what we were in for, and I had a good scouting …
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Mattessich and Mattesich team up for a combined 19 points in the 40-25 win.
Despite losing senior forward Bindi Parikh to a foot injury, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen were able to overcome her absence in a 40-25 road win against the Memorial Tigers. After losing back-to-back games entering Saturday’s action, Fort Lee was in full pursuit of avoiding a possible three-game losing streak. The Lady Bridgemen started the game by winning the tip, working for a good shot and finding junior guard Ally Long for a corner three. Fort Lee scored seven of the first eight points in the game. The last points of that stretch were scored by Parikh, whose night ended when she was taken out of the game a few minutes later. “When Bindi got hurt we stepped up as a team,” said junior guard Megan Gimson. “We all have our own role, but she…
The baby-faced freshman is a star in the making.
Freshman year of high school is a unique time for all boys and girls. It is a time to be nervous yet anxious, excited and worried, but most of all, high school comes with uncertainty. Today, Patch’s Athlete of the Week award is presented to a freshman who is making a name for himself on the hardwood. Against players twice his size and some even four years older than him, guard Dashaun Washington looks overmatched. But on the basketball floor, he is matching up just fine. Washington has been “playing up” since his time in the Fort Lee rec program where he was a younger athlete already playing with 7th and 8th graders. This season it happened again. Instead of playing at the freshmen level with players his age, Washington was bumped up, not …
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Second half proves costly for Fort Lee girls' basketball team, who fell to Dumont Thursday night 57-42.
After entering halftime tied, all signs pointed to the Dumont Huskies and the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen playing a close game until the final buzzer. But halfway through the third quarter, Dumont took control with an 11-0 run on their way to remaining undefeated. “We really wanted to beat our rival and come out with fire,” said Fort Lee senior guard Brianna Mattessich. “We were playing with them the whole time. Then in the second half, we came out and turnovers killed us.” Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris prepared countless hours for Dumont and was not pleased with the final outcome. “Again, we beat ourselves,” said Zafiris. “I don’t think that they earned the win. I think we gave them the win.” The night began with turnovers on both sides …
A reversal of fortune helps Fort Lee get right back on track.
The holiday season is usually very busy with very little free time. But throw a blizzard into the mix, and all of a sudden, the holidays just became a little bit more hectic. With all of the hours spent with family, and maybe even more hours shoveling, you can see where it may be difficult for a student athlete to find practice time in late December. This is one of the albeit unusual dilemmas that plagued the Fort Lee bowling team during the past week. Many of the co-ed bowlers made plans to practice during vacation but were forced to break from their normal routines due to the circumstances. "I was so used to getting up and going to school, and then bowling after school," said senior bowler David Daniels. "Then you couldn't even go …
Cliffside Park scores the final 38 team points in the 50-19 victory.
With the lights dimmed and the crowd filling nearly every seat in the gym, the Fort Lee Bridgemen wrestling team took to the mats for their home opener against Cliffside Park Wednesday night. Before the match, junior Demir Radoncic pumped up the Bridgemen with chants of "Let's go," and "Go hard!" Most of the wrestlers said they were excited to wrestle in front of the home crowd, and some even admitted to being a bit nervous. "I had some pregame jitters," said senior Anatoliy Alkazov. Freshman wrestler Devin Sokolicn went even further with describing the atmosphere. "Scary," Sokolicn said. "[The] heart was racing, blood was pumping." But the final message from Radoncic may have set the tone for an early Fort Lee advantage. "They don't …
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Nelson Mendez leads the Scarlets with a game high 24 points.
Separated by just five miles, the rivalry between Fort Lee and Ridgefield Park grows large in just the small amount of space that divides the two New Jersey towns. It is a rivalry where the Scarlets and Bridgemen simply do not like each other, and on Tuesday night, it was Ridgefield Park that walked away with bragging rights in a 52-40 win. One of the key components of the victory was the play of Nelson Mendez, the Scarlets' senior forward. Mendez utilized his inside presence and post-up maneuvers to lead all players with a game-high 24 points. "Mendez is the best player in the league," said Fort Lee head coach John Ziemba. "He made some unbelievable shots." "He just gets free and gets open," added sophomore center Anthony Rafes. "He's a …
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Fort Lee finishes Jack Reilly basketball tournament in sixth place.
The Fort Lee boys basketball team hoped to carry the momentum of a win over Mahwah into the new year, but the Bridgemen were tripped up against Montclair on Sunday 53-36. With the win, the Montclair Bulldogs finished fifth in the Jack Reilly Tournament, leaving the Bridgemen looking at what went wrong. "Thursday we had so much more energy," said sophomore guard Nick Gentile. "Today we were all dead." With a noon start time, Fort Lee head coach John Ziemba emphasized that the team with the quicker start would have the edge in this contest, and it was Montclair who did just that. "We came out, made two mistakes early and were down 4-0 eight seconds into the game," Ziemba said. "To me, that set the tone." Just a few minutes into the contest…
Mike Radomski
12:45 pm on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thank you for the positive feedback Leslie. I'm glad you enjoyed the article more ›