Schaumburg stays unbeaten while helping defeat hunger
On a night when Arlington Lanes was transformed into a crush of orange, a determined Kylie Frick managed to lead Schaumburg's girls bowling team to another big win.
Frick fired a 694 series — the best of the night from any competitor — to help the Saxons defeat Hoffman Estates as the Mid-Suburban League bowlers donned orange “superhero” t-shirts to support a fundraiser for Feed My Starving Children.
The charity is committed to bringing nutritionally complete meals to the world's hungry.
“I feel like most of us in the MSL are very lucky, for the most part,” said Barrington sophomore Jenica Baron, “so to see everyone pitch in (to the fundraiser) and use what they have to help others is very rewarding.”
“What a worthy cause,” added Jamie Knutsen of Elk Grove. “It's great to help the kids who need it most.”
First-place Schaumburg beat Hoffman in game one with a 1,042 series, but the Saxons needed a superior late effort from anchor bowler Frick to avoid dropping the second game.
The sophomore, who had a 259 in the first game, calmly stepped to the line in the final frame and rolled 3 straight strikes to give the Saxons an 8-pin game two win.
Sunny Bobnick added a 219 mark in the third game as Schaumburg won 9-0 to remain undefeated in conference.
“I knew it was close,” said Frick of her second-game heroics. “I usually don't like to keep track of scores but I knew what I had to do (in the 10th frame).
“We wanted to come out today and prove what a great team we are, and this win gives us a little redemption. They (Hoffman) beat us in every single game last year.”
Barrington won all 3 games over Elk Grove, finishing with 2,375 pins to 2,217 for the Grenadiers.
Baron helped the Fillies' cause with games of 206 and 200, and the soph gave props to senior teammate Sarah Tenyer, the MSL champ two years ago.
Tenyer rolled a 612 series, which included a 222 game, Monday.
“I bowled with Sarah last year and a lot this year in the off-season,” said Baron. “She's helped me grow a lot. Our team is picking each other up better than ever this year, and that's going to help us next season when we'll have to do it without Sarah.”
Knutsen had a 622 series for Elk Grove (244 game), while conference individual average leader Emma Wrenn (213.41) bowled a 233 game to lead Hersey over Wheeling.
Rolling Meadows defeated Fremd 9-0 as Heather Schmidt had a game of 202, while Buffalo Grove (Jessica Soskich, 242 game) beat Palatine by the same count.
Kelly Paradowski excelled for second-place Hoffman with a 220 game, while Gina Lenoci contributed to the Saxons' win by firing a 206 game right off the bat.
“We were anxious,” said Lenoci of the prepration for the much-anticipated contest versus the rival Hawks, “but we knew we could pull it off.”
“I couldn't be happier about our success today,” added Lenoci. “It was a fight but we did it.”
Conant triumphed over Prospect in the final match of the night, but Arie Upshaw of the Knights said that the importance of the charity drive overshadowed the sting of the defeat.
Upshaw talked about how she and her teammates often wind up having dinner at each other's houses, and the fundraiser Monday made them reflect on how fortunate they are.
“A lot of people around the world aren't able to do that,” said Upshaw. “It makes you realize how important it is to help kids in need.”