This Week's Spotlight Duo: Nikki Saponaro and Christine Brezovsky

High School: Nanuet High School

College: Rockland Community College (RCC)

Chrstine Brezovsky
Age:20

Nikki Saponaro
Age: 19

Former teammates Nikki Saponaro and Christine Brezovsky played basketball together at Nanuet High School. After they graduated they both went their separate ways only to be back playing together this year at RCC.

Brezovsky graduated Nanuet High School in 2009, the same year that the team won the New York State and Federation Championship in Glens Falls, NY.  Saponaro was a junior that year, graduating from Nanuet High School in 2010.

"Winning the State and Federation Championship was one of the greatest experiences of my life.  Making history in Nanuet is something I will look back on and cherish.  We beat Oneonta to win the Class B State Championship. Our Federation game was played against Long Island Lutheran held at the Glens Falls Civic Center in upstate New York.  Our team put our hearts into each one of those games in order to get a great result.  Our team chemistry made the team special by having faith in each other in any given situation on the court," said Saponaro.

Saponaro loved basketball and wanted to continue playing in college. She was recruited by a couple of schools and ultimately chose Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. Unfortunately circumstances at the University changed. She focused on her studies that year and decided to reevaluate her future plans and came back home and enrolled at RCC.

Rich Jacobson, the women's head coach at RCC, influenced Saponaro's decision to play again after transferring to RCC. Jacobson was also her AAU coach since she was a freshman in high school.

"Coach Jacobson has been there for me for many years and has made me the player I am today.  We have a very close relationship knowing him for a long time as a coach he gives me advice and constructive criticism that makes me strive for my goals," said Saponaro.

When Saponaro decided to play at RCC she called up her friend Brezovsky to see if she would be interested in playing basketball again.

"I thought after high school I would never play basketball seriously ever again.  Now that I am, I am having so much fun and it is great to be playing with Nikki again.  We played well together in high school but since then we have become great friends and we play very well together when we are on the floor.  If Nikki was not playing this year I might have considered not playing myself," said Brezovsky.

Both Saponaro and Brezovsky are playing exceptionally well for this year. With Brezovsky as point guard and Saponaro as shooting guard, they are lighting up the scoreboard.

"Being on this team has made me gain a lot more confidence in my game and I couldn't do it without my two inspirational coaches Rich Jacobson and Greg Bacalles. Right now all I can look forward to is a great season and possibly making to the Mid Hudson Tournament," said Saponaro.

Saponaro was named Mid-Hudson Conference athlete of the week back in December. The chemistry Saponaro and Brezovsky have on the court is tremendous and it's showing.

As of December 2011, Brezovsky was the top NJCAA Division III in free throw percentage, sinking 25 out of 27 free throws for a total percentage of 93. Saponaro was in the top bracket for three-point field goal percentage, making 17 of 38 from outside the the three-point line.

If you want to see a great local college basketball game head out to the Fieldhouse at RCC to watch these two Knights turned Hawks reunited on the court. The RCC schedule can be found on their website.