Caiati & Casazza Named to Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Seniors Ariana Caiati and Nicholas Casazza of the Moravian College basketball teams have been named to the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team at the organization's second luncheon of the 2018-19 season at DeSales University in on Tuesday afternoon.

The Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Organization is made up of the six small college schools in the Lehigh Valley including NCAA Division II schools East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and NCAA Division III schools Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Moravian College and Muhlenberg College.

Caiati, a senior forward for the Greyhounds, has helped the Moravian women open the year with 10-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Landmark Conference action. Caiati is averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 points per game while starting 10-of-15 games this season, and she also has six blocked shots and five assists. Caiati , who has 164 rebounds and 139 points in 61 games at Moravian, is maintaining a 3.88 GPA while majoring in both physics and chemistry and minoring in mathematics.

"Ariana is relentless in the classroom and carries that work ethic onto the court," commented Head Coach Mary Beth Spirk. "She has worked herself into the starting line up over her time here. She is as fine a role model that I can think of for her younger teammates and classmates. I am confident that Ariana will have continued success after her college career."

Joining Caiati on the Scholar-Athlete Team were Meghan Falk of Muhlenberg, Bridget Wash of DeSales, Tiffany Lapotsky of East Stroudsburg, Venus Cabrera of Cedar Crest and Taylor Thames of Kutztown.

Casazza, a senior guard, has been an integral part of the Greyhounds this season. He has played in all 15 games for the Greyhounds, who are 10-5 on the year and 3-1 in Landmark Conference action, and Casazza is scoring 9.9 points per game to go with a team-high 37 three-pointers, 38 rebounds, 24 assists and 14 steals. He set the school record with 72 three-pointers made in 2017-18 and has 474 points and 121 three-pointers in 69 career games. Casazza is majoring in health science while earning a 3.69 GPA.

"Nick is a great representative of our program on all levels," stated Head Coach Justin Potts '00. "His work ethic, commitment and attitude are great examples for our young guys. Nick competes in everything he does, and it shows with his academic success and his success on the court. His teammates respect him immensely and he will be a guy I continue to reference to future players for years to come."

Joining Casazza on the Scholar-Athlete Team were Erik Werheim of Muhlenberg, Ben Pratt of DeSales, Michal Weiss of East Stroudsburg and Ricky Hicks of Kutztown.

The next Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, February 14 at 11:30 a.m., where the LVSCB 2019 Team and the Pete Nevins Player of the Year awards will be announced.