Barrington's Tenyer turns it up for 17th place

As the song says, what a difference a day makes.

Or in the case of Sarah Tenyer, a day and half to be exact.

The Barrington sophomore, who admitted that she had a "little bit of nerves" on her first trip to the girls bowling state tournament in Rockford, started slowly Friday with a morning 3-game series of 561.

That score her saw languishing near the bottom of the pack of competitors at Cherry Bowl Lanes.

Then came a stellar afternoon session Friday - and an even bigger day Saturday.

Beginning Friday afternoon and continuing through the tournament finale, Tenyer, the Mid-Suburban League champion, posted series marks of 687-700-644 en route to a 17th-place overall finish.

Leyden senior Ashley Kriston continued the Eagles' recent string of state successes with a 2,632 pinfall and a fourth-place individual finish.

Lockport won the team title by 148 pins over Collinsville while Kyra Udziela of Lemont took medalist honors with a 229.0 12-game average.

"Sarah did a great job," said Barrington coach Sam Raia of Tenyer, the first bowling state qualifier in school history. "She represented her school very well, and that 700 series she posted to start the day today gave her a great deal of momentum."

"She had a game plan today and she stuck with her game plan," Raia added. "Sarah never quits and she had a fantastic finish today. I have no doubt she'll be back next year and have an even better finish."

For her part, Tenyer said competing at Rockford meant even more than her top 20 placement.

"I had a lot of fun," said the sophomore, whose top game Saturday was a 255, "and I made a lot of new friends. I didn't start out well but I kept on pushing, and I think this experience will give me more confidence for next year."

Also participating in the state tournament for the first time was Hoffman Estates' senior Ashley Archambault, who helped the Hawks to a 10th-place team finish.

Archambault, who rolled games of 216 and 205 Saturday, said her goal from day one of the season was to make it to state.

"The experience was amazing," the senior said. "It was my first time and my last time, and the support I received was incredible."

Sophomore Amanda Richae led Hoffman in the two-day tourney with a pinfall of 2,556, followed by junior Jordyn Fera (2,461), junior Azaria Waits (2,323) and freshman Allura Magsino (2,236).

"I wish them all well next season," Archambault said. "They're great teammates, great bowlers and very positive people in addition to being pranksters and jokers. I'll miss them next year."

"We came into this season with three new starters," said Hoffman coach Dan Pfligler, "and the progress this team made was incredible. I knew that they had the talent and potential and they went out and proved it."

Angela Anzalone of Conant finished the meet with a 204.9 overall average while sophomore Emma Wrenn led Hersey's effort with a 654 afternoon series Saturday, one that included a 244 game.

Wrenn's teammate Zoe Sarbekian, a junior, said that her first trip to Rockford was a memorable event.

"It was everything I expected it to be," Sarbekian said. "I loved it, and I want to come back and experience it next year."

"It's loud and there are tons of people here but that didn't bother me. I was able to focus on my game and I did whatever I could to help my team."