Roberta Cevera topped 1,000 points and rebounds, but realizes girls have more opportunities now

By KARL PEARSON
Staff Writer

Take it from somebody who knows.  Girls athletes are blessed with far more opportunities than they were 20 years ago.

Roberta (Cevera) Blakeslee was in the vanguard of girls basketball players when she graduated from Harbor High School in 1984.  She used her time on the court, under the direction of Frank Roskovics, to become one of Ashtabula County's all-time leading girls scorers with 1,337 points, which at the time ranked second.  Today, it still stands seventh of the 21 county girls Grand players who have topped 1,000 points.

Add in the 1,004 rebounds she grabbed from 1981-84 for the Mariners, and it's easy to see why she is part of the third class of inductees into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Fame.  She will be joining Roskovics, who was inducted in 2004, in that body on April 10 at the ACBF's annual banquet at the Conneaut Human Resources Center.

"I'm very excited about it," Blakeslee stated.  "My whole family is very excited about it."

Blakeslee figures to have her own little entourage at the ceremonies.  That includes her husband, Rick, a chemical engineer who works at PET Processors, her parents, Bill and Nunny and, perhaps most importantly, her daughters, 16-year-old Amanda, a sophomore at Lakeside High School, and 12-year-old Christiana, a seventh grader at Columbus Junior High.

The only person that won't be there to see her moment in the son is her late grandmother, Olga Guerra, who was an athletic pioneer in her own right, playing for Harbor in the early part of the 20th century before the Ohio High School Athletic Association put girls sports on hold.  The girls game in that era was played halfcourt and the uniforms consisted of short skirts.

Blakeslee fondly recalls the pride her grandmother displayed in her during her career.  The only regret she has about the ACBF banquet is Olga Guerra won't be there to see her honored.

"My grandmother was so proud of me," she recalled.  "Every time there was a pic-
ture of me in the paper, she'd cut it out and put it on the wall.  And it seemed like my picture was in the paper every day.  It got to be embarassing.

"I wish she could be (at the banquet).  I'm sure she'll be watching, though, and she'll be smiling."

Her daughters are part of a generation of girls who have all kinds of options athletically and academically.  At 5-foot-10, Amanda Blakeslee is primarily interested in volleyball, which her mother also played, as a member of Lisa Newsome's Lakeside Dragons.  At 5-5, Christiana also likes volleyball, but is really getting into basketball as a guard for the Columbus Raiders.

Roberta is glad to see those opportunities exist for today's girls.  She and Rick often find themselves heading in opposite directions on weekends with one of their daughters in tow.

"We've got two in (Junior Olympics)," Blakeslee said.  "Christiana and Rick recently went to VASJ and Amanda and I ended up going to Mercyhurst.  JOs is almost a requirement now.

"The opportunities girls have now are amazing.  But there's more pressure on the girls now, at least subliminal pressure."

Blakeslee played for Roskovics from the 1981-82 season through the 1983-84 campaign.  The Mariners won 56 games and lost 13 in that span and won three sectional championships.  Harbor was a district runner-up in 1983 and shared the 1983-84 Northeastern Conference title with Conneaut.  She was also the Northeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1982.

She appreciates the kind of direction she got from Roskovics, for whom she also played volleyball.

"He was always very positive with the girls," Blakeslee said.  "It was nice to have someone who was so supportive.  It's nice to know he's still around paving the way for girls with the (Ashtabula County Women's Scholar-Athlete Association)."

She was also something of a pioneering spirit.  Blakeslee was among the first girls to play baseball in the Ashtabula Little League, and the first ever to pitch.

Blakeslee said she wasn't out to make a statement or be a rebel.  While she "took some abuse," Blakeslee said she didn't have much awareness of being in the forefront of change.

"It just happened," Blakeslee said of playing Little League baseball.  "God blessed me with the ability.  And I've always felt, the more challenges, the better."

Talent will carry a player only so far.  Blakeslee was more than willing to supply the sweat needed to become one of the premiere players in Ashtabula County history.

"Roberta had good ability," Roskovics said.  "And she was one of the hardest-working players I ever had.  She was very coachable.  She was always looking for new ways to improve her game."

Blakeslee's athletic accomplishments didn't go unnoticed.  She also qualified for the state meet in track in the shot put her freshman, junior and senior years for Lou Morrell.

"People said I had a lot of potential," she said.  "I guess I could have gone to school anywhere.  I got letters from a lot of different places, including Army and Michigan State.  But I fell in love and kind of got sidetracked."

Blakeslee used to work for a local builder as an interior painter.  She gave up the regular job to devote more time to her family.

"The most important job in the world is raising my two girls and supporting my husband in his career and having a great home," Blakeslee said.  "This is the real deal.  I wouldn't change a thing.  We have a wonderful life."

She's going to make sure her daughters take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way.

"I will encourage the girls to get to college," Blakeslee said.  "We always try and encourage the girls in the things they do.

"I want them to have respect for each other.  I want them to know about responsibility and about how important teamwork is and the discipline it takes to be an athlete.  I want them to realize that we're all in this together."

Though her roots are in Harbor's purple and gold, she's also supportive of her daughters and the possibilities for the newly constituted Lakeside.

"I have no problem with it," Blakeslee said.  "We're all for the consolidation."

Her family has always been important to Blakeslee, and sports has helped her honor her loved ones.

"My grandmother was a big influence on me," Blakeslee said.  "Knowing she was an athlete, it meant a lot for me to represent her and my family.  And it was nice for my parents to hear about the things I did.  And they still do.  People still come up to them and say they saw me play."