Waits, Hoffman Estates make the grade against Conant

Hoffman Estates senior bowler Azaria Waits said her team would have to bring it's 'A' game to defeat first-place Conant.

The Hawks did just that, and if grades are being passed out, Waits earned an A+.

The senior rolled a 279 game - the best in the Mid-Suburban League this season and the top game ever by Waits - as Hoffman outpointed the Cougars 9-0.

Waits had 9 consecutive strikes as the Hawks' score of 2,856 was 277 pins better than their crosstown rival.

"It was pretty awesome," said Waits. "I tried to stay calm. You get too excited and put a little extra on it and you can pull your shot, and then …

"I was joking around, trying not to let it get in my head, trying not to be too serious."

After sparing frame one, Waits kept firing strike after strike until ending her gem with a final spare.

The senior added that her teammates, although they surely were excited about her game, didn't let on.

"Bowlers are a superstitious bunch," said Waits, "so they acted like nothing was happening. No one wants to be the one who says 'Hey look' - and then you bowl a spare, and they think it's their fault."

Angela Anzalone shot games of 218 and 202 for Conant, while Sarah Tenyer of Barrington almost matched Waits.

Tenyer fired a 277 and had the night's top series (688), but it couldn't prevent the Fillies from falling to Wheeling as Elizabeth Stavros of the Wildcats had games of 223 and 200.

Prospect earned a well-deserved win over Fremd as Arie Upshaw led the way with a 586 series.

The Knights dropped the first game to the Vikings 803-800 but rallied to win the next two.

"We had the confidence to come back," said Upshaw, "even though we were facing some tough competition in Fremd."

Knights senior Cassidy Selep, who contributed a 200 game, said she's sure her final season is going to be a successful one.

"It's been a lot of fun this year," said Selep. "It's weird in a way that I'm a senior and this is the last time I'll be doing this, but I really like our team. We mesh well together."

Selep added that the transition to their new head coach, Ashley Ruszczak (who took over the reins just days before the season started), has been smooth.

"Arie and I have known Ashley for a long time," said Selep of Ruszczak , who was formerly a JV assistant coach. "We know her coaching style and she's a lot of fun to be around."

Rolling Meadows earned a sweep over Palatine 2,350 to 2,127 as anchor bowler Robyn Conrad rolled games of 232 and 192 en route to a 563 series.

Buffalo Grove improved to 25-2 and took over first place in the conference with a 9-0 win over Elk Grove as Jessica Soskich, who came in to play Monday leading the league in individual average, fired a 247 game.

Schaumburg beat a tough Hersey team to tie BG for first place. Elise London was out front for the Saxons with a consistent 202-201-193-596.

Schaumburg also got another stellar performance from freshman Kylie Frick, who is in the top 10 in MSL average and scored a 177-203-193-573 line against the Huskies.

Emma Wrenn of Hersey had a 649.

"I've got a lot of great teammates," said Frick. "I feel lucky to be on this team."

Jordyn Fera of Hoffman had a 591 series to contribute to her team's win while teammate Alexis Orwat rolled a 244 in game 3 for the Hawks, who as a team have one goal for the season.

"We want to get back to the state tournament," said Waits. "And this time, bring home some hardware."