Mid-Suburban League bowlers happily lend a helping hand
Arlington Lanes became a sea of purple Wednesday night.
Instead of their usual team jerseys, Mid-Suburban League bowling competitors donned purple "MSL Helps the Homeless" t-shirts as the league initiated one of its annual charity drives at the midweek matches.
The league is known for sponsoring a different worthy cause every season, and this year was no different as the bowlers did their part to make the world a better place.
"This is great," said Hersey senior Monsie Plata. "Everyone wants to help, and it's so rewarding to see all of us come together as a community."
"It's incredible," said Palatine junior bowler Emily Miehlke. "They've had a great turnout, and I understand they've raised a lot of money for a good cause."
The philanthropic effort by the league also helped spark a fun night on the lanes and some stellar performances from many of the players.
First in line was Wheeling senior Elizabeth Stavros, whose 209 game and 591 series led the surging Wildcats to a tightly contested win over Fremd.
Wheeling won 7-2 but outscored the Vikings by only 17 pins, 2,422 to 2,405.
"It's going pretty well for us this season," said Stavros, who said that she has "put in a lot of practice" to help improve her scores in her final campaign.
The senior is looking forward to the rest of this year but also has her sights set on the fall, when she most likely will attend Harper College as a pathway to Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, where she plans to study engineering.
"Elizabeth has taken on even more of a leadership role this year," said Wildcats coach Beth Anderson. "She's also learned how to be an anchor bowler and not let anything affect the way she plays."
"She's a very vocal leader, and to be honest she's harder on herself than I could ever be. Elizabeth has a lot of drive, she's one of the smartest kids at our school, and she has a lot of plans for the future."
For her part, Stavros said she'll miss prep bowling upon graduation but is extremely excited about what her Wildcats can accomplish the rest of the year.
"I've realized just how competitive we can be," said the senior. "Last year we made it to sectionals, and now I hope we can make it to state - and I think we have the talent to do that."
• Schaumburg kept its hold on first place Wednesday with a win over Rolling Meadows. Sunny Bobnick led the Saxons with a 603 series, while Robyn Konrad of the Mustangs rolled a 247 game and a 627 series.
• Prospect's Arie Upshaw fired a 210 game to help the Knights defeat Barrington but that effort couldn't diminish the outstanding season Sarah Tenyer of the Fillies is enoying.
The junior shot a 227 game at Arlington and came into play second in the conference with a 203.5 average.
"I'm trying to take it day-by-day," said Tenyer, "and focus on every individual day. My first two years I had a tendency of focusing on the big tournaments, the regionals and the sectionals. Now that I have more experience I know that if I take it day-by-day it can help me bring it to the next level.
"I'm so excited about our team this year. We've got a lot of new players and I've been happy to get to know them."
• Azaria Waits shot a 223 game, while Hoffman Estates teammate Jordyn Fera finished with games of 215 and 212 as the Hawks beat Elk Grove. Jamie Knutsen had a 509 series for the Grens.
• Angela Anzalone's 592 helped Conant cruise by Palatine, while Hersey kept its momentum trending upward as the conference heads for the home stretch.
• Emma Wrenn of the Huskies, the league leader in average (204.1), rolled a 234 game as Hersey won over Buffalo Grove 2,587 to 2,574 (7-2 in points).
• Jessica Soskich shot 565 for BG, while Hersey bowlers Ashley Hoffman (209, 549), Zoe Sarbekian (183 game) made significant contributions to the victory.
"I thought we had a great game tonight," said Plata. "We've been struggling a little lately but we've all been working together and supporting each other."