Slick Frick helps Schaumburg keep it rolling

Schaumburg sophomore Kylie Frick is picking up right where she left off last season.

So is her Saxons team.

Frick finished seventh individually at the state finals as a frosh last year, and as a matter of fact she held the lead after the first day of competition.

Wednesday evening at Arlington Lanes, Frick - who came into play seventh in conference average at 187.78 - rolled a 565 series to lead Schaumburg to another Mid-Suburban League win, 9-0 over Rolling Meadows.

It was the fourth consecutive win without a loss for the Saxons, a state qualifier a year ago, and kept them in first place with a perfect 36-0 mark.

"We pulled together as a team tonight," said Frick. "It's important to support each other and pick each other up when we get down."

It wasn't easy for the Saxons, however, as a stubborn Mustangs squad, led by Esmerelda Bahena's 537 series, led the first game after 9 frames were in the books.

"We had a team meeting before the 10th frame," said Frick. "Our coach (Mark Kelly) said to us, 'How much do you want it?' At that point it was all about the mental game. We came out with the determination we needed and pulled it out. We don't like to lose."

Wheeling, which is quietly having a very solid campaign, scored a 9-0 victory over Elk Grove, outpinning the Grenadiers 2,401 to 1,866.

The senior-laden Wildcats said that their success this year is all about team unity.

"We're a family," said Wheeling bowler Evelyn Bernacho, while teammate Maria Semenets added that it's all about setting goals and achieving them for her team.

"It's nice to see results for all of the hard work we've put in," said Semenets. "It's very rewarding."

Semenets rolled a 200 game in the win, teammate Karsyn Burgess (the only junior in the starting lineup) fired a 208 game, while Savannah Garcia led the Wildcats with a 529 series (214 game).

Garcia, a senior who is juggling some tough college prep courses to along with her varsity athletics, admitted that it can sometimes be a difficult journey.

"All the meets seem to go on a lot longer (than they should), and sometimes we don't get home until 8 or later," said the senior, "but it's all worth it because we are a family."

Hoffman Estates stayed in second place in the conference with a 9-0 win over Prospect as Amanda Richae rolled the top game of the night - and the season so far - a 278.

Buffalo Grove got a win over Fremd, winning all 3 games behind Jessica Soskich's 636 series, and the Bison got the victory despite an outstanding 609 series and 255 game from Stephanie Judkins.

Emma Wrenn rolled 3 plus-200 games (252, 215 and 203) in Hersey's triumph over Palatine while Barrington (633, 239 from Sarah Tenyer) beat Conant.

Gayle Stanford of the Cougars (206 game) is another of the many MSL stellar seniors who look forward to college next year while excelling in their final prep year, both in the classroom and on the lanes.

"With the classes I have it is sometimes a difficult load," said Stanford, who plans to study computer sciences and criminal justice at the next level, while continuing her bowling career. "But I've played at all of the levels in my four years of bowling at Conant, and I know what type of goals we have to set for ourselves."

Other scores of note Wednesday were a 223 game from Buffalo Grove's Caitlyn Howard, and a 232 from Jenica Baron of the Fillies.

For the first-place Saxons, Sunny Bobnick finished with a 556 series while Adina Contreras shot 539.

"Time flies," said Frick, reflecting back on her record-setting freshman year. "It's a new team, a new season and a lot of changes. You try to come out (in the new season) and break your records, but there's kind of a lot of stress so it's important to go out and have fun and do the best you can."

"There'll be some rough patches, but as long as we pull together we'll be OK."