Schaumburg takes team title; Conneely, Odarczenko excel as individuals
Mary Conneely of Maine West and Victoria Odarczenko of Maine South had a distinct disadvantage at Saturday's Palatine girls bowling regional.
Both Conneely and Odarczenko were competing without the support of a full team behind them.
Neither the Warriors nor the Hawks have a girls bowling team, so the two juniors bowled — as is acceptable under IHSA standards — as individuals at Brunswick Zone in Lake Zurich.
Despite the unfavorable position , however, both bowlers acquitted themselves quite well to say the least.
Odarczenko rolled a 1,272, good for the second-place overall medal, and Conneely fired a 1,207 as they both qualified for next Saturday's sectional tournament.
Mid-Suburban League champion Schaumburg won the team competition by posting a 5,917 pinfall mark to move on to the Rolling Meadows sectional meet.
“This is amazing,” said Saxons freshman Gina Lenoci, who rolled a 237 game to help her team move on. “What an exciting achievement. We've all been working hard together this season.”
“It was a little intimidating today, but we absolutely did our best. Our goal is to go farther (in the state playoffs) than any Schaumburg team has gone.”
For Conneely – and Odarczeno – the qualification was a culmination of a long season of preparation, as neither player can compete in dual meets or tournaments during the season.
So basically, their entire season comes down to practice and more practice — and league bowling — to get ready for the state tourney.
“I kept begging our school and they finally relented,” said Conneely, who despite being a junior competed in the state playoffs for the first time. “The rules say I can bowl, so they let me bowl.
“I play in a travel league and go to a lot of different alleys and experience a lot of different lane conditions, and that helped me get ready for today.”
Odazrczenko, who had the top game of the day (278) admitted that it was tough being at Brunswick Zone on her own, despite being accompanied by teacher who served as a sponsor.
“It was upsetting,” said the junior. “It was hard being out here as an individual when everyone else was here with a team. But I was excited — I kept a smile on my face and fought through, and my parents were here to support me.”
Hoffman Estates (5,669), Hersey (5608) and Prospect (5,225) were the other teams that advanced to sectionals
Emma Wrenn led the Huskies, winning the overall individual medal by shooting 1285, a mark that included a 255 game 6.
Amanda Richae (1,270) won the third-place medal for Hoffman Estates, while Arie Upshaw (1157, 235 game) paced the Knights.
Other individual qualifiers for the Meadows sectional meet were Robyn Konrad of the Mustangs, who rolled an 1138; Victoria Domanski (1,125) and Angela Anzalone (1,170) from Conant; Elizabeth Stavros (1,108) of Wheeling; and Jordan Ankerbrant of Streamwood and Palatine's Nicole Southerland.
Both Becca Rutkowski of Fremd and teammate Stephanie Judkins also will move on.
“I'm so excited,” said Judkins, a junior. “I'm happy me and Becca made it, and I hope next year it'll be all of us.”
Rutkowski, a senior, said she was most proud of the way her team performed. The Vikings just missed out on a team advancement with a fifth-place finish.
“I'm so proud of my teammates,” said Rutkowski. “We've got a lot of seniors on our team, and their combined improvement from our freshman year until now was inspiring.”
Alexis Orwat (245 game) excelled for Hoffman Estates, while Zoe Sarbekian (1,171 series) gave a big assist to the Hersey qualification.
For the champion Saxons, Sarah Schwind posted games of 234 enroute to a 1,256 6-game series. Elise London fired a 246 game, and Kylie Frick won the fourth-place medal with a 1,259.
Frick, another Schaumburg fabulous frosh, earned the top 3-game series mark of the morning session, a 710 that included a game of 264 right out the gate.
Frick admitted that the postseason atmosphere is a big step up from regular season play.
“Obviously, there's more pressure,” said Frick, “but I think that actually makes you do better. We knew we had to come out and do the best we could. You never know (in the playoffs) when you could be bowling your last game of the season.
“I had my team behind me today – they helped keep my spirits up and pushed me to do more.”