Girls bowling: Scouting Northwest

MSL EASTBuffalo Grove: BG Coach Jean Tripam's squad will have only one senior, returnee Valeria Karneevich. "We are still a very young team," said Tripam. "The girls have been working hard since last season with summer leagues and lessons. I'm looking forward to seeing their progress, and I'd like to see them finish in the upper half of the MSL." Also looking for strong campaigns will be junior Joanne Savage and sophomores Jessica Soskich, Caitlin Howard, Rebecca Herrera, and Jennifer Sauer.

Elk Grove: Grenadiers coach Jason Svehla likes the look of his squad this season. "I've already seen some good things from the girls early on," said Svehla. "I think we're going to be competitive, we just need a few girls to step up. " Competitors for the Grens in this campaign will include outstanding athlete Jackie Peters, who already fired a 586 series in the opening night of the Mid-Suburban League season.

Hersey: The Huskies are looking forward to what could be one of their best-ever seasons with bowlers Emma Wrenn (sophomore), junior Zoe Sarbekian and senior Marissa Allen returning. All three finished in the top 25 in individual average last season. "We placed fifth in conference last year," said Hersey coach Julie Arias, "made it to sectionals and just missed qualifying for state as a team." Seniors Delanie Steinweg and Kait Roscoe will also be counted on for big contributions. "I think we have one of the strongest teams in Hersey history," added Arias, "and I look forward to a competitive season. I believe we will continue to make great accomplishments and set new school records."

Prospect: Knights coach Greg Troyer is hoping that a stellar group of junior varsity players from last season can step up to varsity this year and hopefully lead his team to the top of the Mid-Suburban League standings. Sarah Gervais, Kendall Dawson, Cassidy Selep, Monica Lopez and Megan Vedner are the standouts that won 35 of 36 games last year. "We have some outstanding bowlers moving up," said Troyer. "It will take time for the girls to get comfortable on the varsity and jell as a team, but we hope to compete for the title." The main cog in the Knights machine will be sophomore Arie Upshaw, ninth in the MSL last year in average as a frosh.

Wheeling: The Wildcats will have a new player in 2014, Samantha Schmidt, who moved into the area from Ridgewood High School. "We'll be young, but we're excited," said Wildcats coach Beth Anderson. "We have Karsyn Burgess (sophomore) and Nicole Wittman (freshman) on the team this year, and they have both bowled travel and Pepsi." Also in the mix for Wheeling will be Brianna Cychosz, Elizabeth Stavros, and Renata Olvera. "Renata was our most improved bowler last season," added Anderson, and Elizabeth and Brianna have experience as well. We also have a bunch of sophomores who are getting better and better, and we are pushing these guys in practice. We're looking to climb into the middle of the pack in the MSL this year and try to push some of the higher up programs."

Rolling Meadows: "We have a very young squad," said Mustangs coach Karen Ellingsworth, "but I see lots of potential and we'll strive to keep improving as the season progresses." Senior Lisa Roldan, a sectional qualifier last year, is back along with classmate Allie Petrick. Joining varsity this season will be talented sophomore Heather Schmidt.

MSL WESTBarrington: Senior Claire Casper and Sarah Tenyer will be the two most prominent bowlers for a Fillies team that hopes to move up the ladder in conference. "We're going to need some other bowlers to step up and contribute as well. " said Barrington coach Sam Raia. "We'll need some time for our new players to respond to coaching and put in the time to become successful, and help knock down the pins to compete with these tough MSL teams. We had a lot of close games last season and we want to finish games stronger this time and break through with some wins."

Conant: Cougars coach Jennifer Mikrut says that the "top contenders for he squad this year will be Ashley Pincenti, Jordyn Wagner and Angela Anzalone. We expect them to be the leaders going forward," added Mikrut." Rounding out the team will be Shama Patel and Victoria Domanski. "We finished seventh (in the MSL) last year," said Mikrut, "but we hope to improve this year. We've got a great group of talented juniors and seniors who work hard and should be very competitive. We have a very tough conference, but I believe we can challenge for a top three finish."

Fremd: The Vikings have a new coach in Ruben Hinojosa, and he'll be counting on strong seasons from returnees Abby Peterson and Gina Rowlet. "As the new coach," said Hinojosa, "I'm looking to improve our team average and end in the top eight of conference. We've been practicing very well and we hope that our hard work pays of as we get into our season." Senior Brooke Leahy returns to spark the Vikings, and other contributors will be Andrea Hurlburt, Becca Rutkowski and Stephanie Jenkins. "We'd like to end our season," added Hinojosa, "with a trip downstate."

Hoffman Estates: The perennially successful Hawks lost some great bowlers to graduation, but junior Jordyn Fera returns as the team leader. Sophomore Amanda Richae is back as well, and Hoffman is also looking for some contributions from a couple of JV players moving up. "We were MSL champs and third in state last year," said Hawks coach Dan Pfligler, "but we graduated three seniors from that team. Still, we're looking to be competitive in the conference and hopefully qualify again for state."

Palatine: "We've got two kids, Stephanie Berber and Kayla Ure, who are very talented and experienced," said Pirates coach John Burke. "We're also looking for some of the other girls who have great potential to be more consistent, and we've got some good junior varsity players coming up. We'll have a fun group this year, that's for sure, and they all get along very well."

Schaumburg: The Saxons roster will include Sarah Schwind, Sunny Bobnick, Elise London, Sarah Oberwise and Jessica Halas. Halas excelled last season, winning the Zion Benton sectional tournament. "Sarah (Schwind) are Jessica will hold the keys to our season," said Schaumburg coach Mark Kelly. "They're both very talented and very experienced. Otherwise, I can see we have a lot of girls with a lot of potential. I think we're going to be extremely competitive and I've already seen some good things this season so far."

WEST SUBURBAN GOLDLeyden: The Eagles lost some outsanding four-year players from last year's state runner-up squad, but return some talented, experienced athletes as well. Leading the charge will be seniors Ashley Kriston and Nicole Pitsenbarger, and junior Gia Paolantino. "Obviously, last year was a tremendous year," said Leyden coach Chris Aylward. "Now this year we're fortunate to have a large group of freshmen. We're going to focus our efforts this year on developing a competitive squad, while doing all we can to compete this year." Leyden's biggest loss was standout Reba Hall, who just missed out on an individual state title in 2013. "It's a double-edged sword for us this year," added Aylward. "You can't throw inexperienced girls into the fire, but each year is its own entity, and I feel very good about the group of girls we have in the program now."