Local team is ranked No. 1 in the nation

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER The women's sports programs at Northampton Community College continue to have great success. The women's volleyball team had a record-breaking, championship season this fall; the women's softball team is always strong and now the women's basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the country. Eight of the 12 girls on the roster are from The Morning Call coverage area. They are Alyssa Gibson of Wilson, Katie Schickling and Tanisha Blake of Pocono Mountain West, Jahnna Salazar of Liberty, Brianna Clymer and Sofia Bupivi of Phillipsburg, and Tiara Aziz and Felicia Shaner of Easton. Here's the release courtesy of the school: The Northampton women's basketball team is the new No.1 team in the country according to the NJCAA Division III poll released today by the national office. The Spartans, under the direction of long-time mentor Art Wolfe, took over the top spot after after previous No. 1 Rock Valley Community College (the defending national champion) lost two games over the weekend. Northampton, now 7-0 after Tuesday night's 68-38 victory over Montgomery County Community College, become NCC's first-ever No.1 ranked team. "It is a great accomplishment for Coach Wolfe, his staff and their players," commented Director of Athletics Troy Tucker, "but it is also a huge thrill for our entire department and the college as a whole ... to be ranked #1 shows that your program has earned respect on a national-level, and for that to have happened so quickly here is a testament to our coaches, staff and student-athletes." The women's basketball team had been ranked as high as No. 2 on two different occasions, last week and also back in November of 2010. Men's Basketball, Volleyball, Softball and Baseball have also each held top-10 national rankings.