Strong start for new-look Hoffman Estates team

Hoffman Estates freshman Allura Magsino admitted that it was a little "nerve-wracking" going into her first Mid-Suburban League match.

"But I really wasn't that nervous," said Magsino, "because I knew my team was there to support me."

And if there were any worries about how the freshman would perform under pressure, those doubts were dispelled Monday night at Arlington Lanes.

Magsino fired a 204 in the first game en route to a 561 series as the Hawks defeated Hersey 2,697 pins to 2,604 in a matchup of what should be two of the MSL's top teams this season.

Junior anchor Jordyn Fera, who is emerging as one of the team leaders for Hoffman, led the way with a 576 (226 top game).

The Hawks lost three outstanding seniors from last year's squad that finished third in the state, but Fera feels that Hoffman will still be amongst the elite.

"We've got lots of potential," said the junior, "but we're basically a new team. We've got a goal to shoot at least 900 every time out.

"I know that I've got to work as hard as I can, stay calm, and improve my spare shooting."

Schaumburg shot out of the gate with a first game 1,052 series to outpoint Elk Grove 9-0.

Elise London rolled a stellar 263 in game 1 for the Saxons.

"We've got two returning veterans in Sarah Schwind and Jessica Halas," said Schaumburg coach Mark Kelly, "and a lot of talented players stepping in who we hope can reach their potential."

One of the Saxons who stepped up in a big way Monday was Sarah Oberwise. She fell one final pin short of closing out game 3 with six consecutive strikes enroute to a 211.

Despite it being only her second varsity match, the junior said there were no jitters.

"I'm not really used to this yet," said Oberwise, "so I wasn't nervous, and I'm excited about good our team can be. Tonight gave us a lot of confidence."

Sunny Bobnick led the Saxons with a 568 series, while Jackie Peters rolled a 586 for the Grenadiers.

Conant defeated Wheeling as Ashley Pincenti shot 548, while Buffalo Grove scored a win over Rolling Meadows as Joanna Savage finished at 564.

Other scores of note at Arlington included a 629 (with a 237 high game) from Hersey's Emma Wrenn and a 216 game from Angela Anzalone of the Cougars.

A 225 from Stephanie Jenkins led Fremd over Palatine, while in a highly competitive match, Prospect defeated Barrington 7-2 despite a 545 from the Fillies' Sarah Tenyer. Sarah Gervais, one of a group of newcomers to the Knights' varsity, shot 584 to lead Prospect.

Gervais finished second individually in the MSL junior varsity division last year, while teammates Kendall Dawson and Cassidy Selep were fourth and sixth, respectively.

"Most of the girls from our JV team (which won 35 games while losing only 1 in 2013) are up on varsity this year," said Selep. "We were able for form a very close bond last season and we.re hoping to have continued success this season."

Arie Upshaw (ninth overall in the conference last year) is one of the few returnees for the Knights despite being only a sophomore. And despite her accomplishments as a frosh, Upshaw says that she still has a lot of experience to gain.

"I feel like I'm still learning the ropes," said the sophomore."We'll see what happens."