By Matthew Rocco
The St. John Vianney High School girls basketball team has said goodbye to a senior class that led the Lady Lancers to the state title. This summer, the team is back on the court with a new-look starting five and a plan to preserve its championship form.
Fresh off a dream season, the Lancers will be counting on rising seniors and juniors who are taking on new roles. Kelly Campbell, Kellie Crouch, Tina Lebron, Vanessa Pinho, Gigi Caponegro, Zoe Pero and Megan Furch capped their high-school careers with a double-overtime victory over Manasquan High School in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, coupled with Shore Conference Tournament and NJSIAA Non-Public A titles. Now the Lancers will use the summer as a time to regroup in preparation for the 2016-17 season.
Kimi Evans, a starting forward for last season’s championship team, will bring the most experience to next season’s senior class. Joining Evans are fellow rising seniors and returnees Courtney Dobrzynski, Julia Ramos, Riley Kehoe and Abby Anderko. St. John Vianney will also have juniors Madison Doring and Sarah Furch back in the fold, along with sophomore Sarah Karpell. Despite losing key players, St. John Vianney has the makings of another deep roster.
“We’ll have Kimi Evans back, and other seniors will be stepping up. They’ll just be in new roles,” said head coach Dawn Karpell, adding that several seniors are entering their third year of varsity basketball.
Most of the Lancers are on the AAU circuit this summer, playing on their respective club teams. The St. John Vianney squad will reunite for the Under Armour Best of Maryland Basketball Tournament, where the Lancers will showcase their talents in front of college recruiters and coaches.
“We want to build chemistry, and I also want to see them grow their individual games. This is the time that college coaches are watching. We work with our players on their individual skills, so I’m excited for them to play for college coaches in a couple weeks,” Karpell said.
The Under Armour Best of Maryland Basketball Tournament, held July 26-28, has 22 teams signed up to participate. Other Shore Conference teams making the trip are Red Bank Catholic High School, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School and St. Rose High School. Coaches from 127 difference colleges scouted the invite-only event last year, according to the tournament’s website. Over 350 players in 16 years of the Best of Maryland tournament have received college basketball scholarships.
St. John Vianney is returning to Maryland after entering the showcase in the summer of 2015, when the Lancers made an appearance in the tournament’s playoffs.
Like the annual KSA Holiday Basketball Tournament in Walt Disney World, the Best of Maryland showcase will make the Lancers better by putting them on the court with some of the best teams in the country, Karpell said. It’s all in preparation for what’s to come next season.
“We get to test the waters, Karpell said. “It’s a good test of our talent vs. nationally ranked teams.”