Fremd rolls to victory behind senior leaders
The Fremd girls bowling team is counting on senior leadership this season to propel them to the upper echelon of the Mid-Suburban League.
And at Thursday night's MSL bowling meet at AMF Lanes in Rolling Meadows, the two seniors in the starting lineup delivered with superb performances to help the Vikings advance in the standings.
Jenifer Weber fired a 255 game and classmate Gabby Burnitz rolled a 246, a game that included 7 consecutive strikes, as Fremd defeated Barrington 9-0 to move two places up the ladder into fifth place.
In other action, Hoffman Estates senior Liz Saffold bowled a 748 series (279 game), the best in the MSL in two years, to help the Hawks sweep Palatine and stay in a second-place tie with Prospect.
Elk Grove kept its first-place position with a 9-0 win over Hersey as Grens senior Caerlina Williams had a 672 series and 265 game.
“Our team has a great attitude this year,” said Weber, who along with Burnitz and junior Samantha Rossdeutcher (in the top 25 in MSL average) are playing major roles in Fremd's resurgence. “We're out here for one reason — to bowl, and not for a social event.”
“It's not that we haven't taken it seriously before, but we're taking it very seriously this year,” added Weber. “The realization is setting in that this is our last year, and our last chance to make it to state. We want to experience that before we graduate.”
“We're focusing on hitting our marks and picking up our spares. Ultimately, the key to having a successful season is to make your spares.”
Prospect's Emily Victor was tops for the Knights (618 series) in their 9-0 win over Schaumburg, although Saxons senior Jodi Gawlik did all she could with games of 216 and 211 (twice), while Cheryl Halas bowled a 242 game.
Conant defeated Wheeling and moved in to a fifth-place tie with the Vikings as Julie Einbinder rolled a 223 game, while Rolling Meadows' own stellar senior tandem, Taryn Hampton and Paula Noh, helped the Mustangs defeat Buffalo Grove 5-4.
“They've been our leaders all season,” said Meadows coach Karen Ellingsworth of Hampton and Noh. “They've put in a lot of extra work and it's paid off.”
Noh came into Thursday's play second in the Mid-Suburban League with a 209.07 average (just behind Gawlik's 217.95), while Hampton is also in the top 25.
Both Mustangs seniors treat their positions as team leaders with the utmost dedication.
“We're role models,” said Hampton, “and I think that the most important thing we can do is step up with a positive attitude. It's very important to stay positive, even when you miss a shot that you think you should have made. Being negative can take a terrible toll on the team.
“This year is all about setting goals and trying to achieve them.”