Rossi, Warren roll to NSC triumph

A hot start for Kayla Rossi and Warren's girls bowling team made for a cold, hard reality for the rest of the North Suburban Conference teams Friday at Brunswick Deer Park Lanes.

Warren posted 5,755 pins for the top spot, followed by Lake Zurich (5,461) in the five-team field.

Just this week, Rossi made a commitment to attend and bowl at Valparaiso next fall. She started out with a career-best 741 series in the morning, with games of 247, 235 and 259, then tossed games of 200, 203 and 246 for a 649 in the afternoon for a total 1,390.

"I just did it for my team, because I'm team-oriented," Rossi said. "If my team does well then I'm going to do well. If my team struggles then I'm going to struggle. Obviously, I'm going to pick them up. This team means so much to me. It helps me to stop worrying about me and to worry about them. It's good to do well individually, but doing well as a team is an equalizer for me."

Warren opened with games of 904, 1,016 and 1059 for a 2,979. And the Blue Devils rolled away from that point with games of 962, 872, and 942.

"I'm pleased with the way they came out today," Warren coach KC Lange said. "We start out sluggish, and its been a problem we've had all season - but we build as we go. We bowled better earlier then we have in a while. As a group they picked each other up. They talk to each other and they help one another."

Other Blue Devils contributors included Hayley Gregerson (1,186), Macayla Powers (1,141), Maggie Faje (1,029) and Victoria Dizon (1,009).

Lake Zurich had bowlers finish second and third individually. Amanda Tarlos was the runner-up with 1,242; she started her day with a 278. Teammate Becky Mnichowicz followed with 1,210 with a high game of 255. Others scores came from Dana Nelson (1,127), Allison O'Hara (775, 5 games) and Kristie Skoby (774, 5 games).

"Warren just couldn't miss," Lake Zurich coach Mel Fox said. "But we gave it a try and worked real hard out there. I'm not upset with second place. I thought the team improved, and we'll be ready for next week (regionals)."