Hoffman Estates hitting high notes
Editor’s note: The story was updated to correct the first name of a Schaumburg athlete, Susan Wiederhold.
The Hoffman Estates girls bowling team has been flying high this season.
But according to senior Sarah Wille, the best is yet to come.
“We’re looking to break some records,” said Wille.
Wille and her teammates have already bowled a 3,097 series this year, the best score in the Mid-Suburban League by 200 pins and the Hawks’ top mark in three years.
At Monday night’s MSL meet at Arlington Lanes, Hoffman Estates kept rolling by defeating Hersey 7-2 to cement its hold on first place in the conference.
Wille finished with a flourish with a 213 final game, while classmate Brandy Hoglund led the Hawks with a 642 series that included a meet-best 255.
“We struggled a little tonight, especially in the second game,” Wille added. “We were able to recover thanks to an attitude adjustment.”
Senior Meylyssa Donovan rolled a 232 game for the Hawks. She credited her success to her teammates.
“We all work together,” Donovan said. “We’re all good friends in school and I think that translates to the lanes.
“We just missed going to state last season. So we’re looking to win conference, sectionals and move on to the state tournament this year. We want to represent all the great bowlers and great tradition that’s been Hoffman Estates bowling throughout the years.”
Kayleigh Duff fired a consistent 181-192-194 series to lead Elk Grove to an 8-1 win over Barrington.
Today promises to be a memorable day for the Grens senior.
At about 3 p.m. she will sign a letter of intent to attend and bowl at Grandview University in Des Moines next season.
“It’s crazy sad that this is my last high school season because it’s been such a great experience,” Duff said. “But at the same time I’m excited about moving on to college. Grandview is ranked fifth right now on bowl.com, and they’re a newer program so I think it’s a great time to come in.”
The college will certainly be happy to welcome Duff, who came into Monday night’s meet leading the MSL in average with a 201.33.
“Our team has been doing very well this season,” she said. “We’ve got a high average but it doesn’t really show in the standings because of the teams we’ve been versing. We’ve been improving day by day.”
In other matches, Schaumburg, led by a 639 series (222 game) by Kaitlyn Acevedo and a 245 game from Susan Wiederhold, defeated Rolling Meadows while Prospect’s Abby Owens (593 pins knocked down over three games) helped the Knights beat Wheeling.
Buffalo Grove’s Joanne Savage fired 202-177-197-576 to lead the Bison to a victory over Fremd, while Palatine edged Conant 5-4 thanks to a 208 game and 547 series from Katie Conrad.
Angela Anzalone rolled games of 213 and 204 for the Cougars while Jordyn Fera staked first place Hoffman Estates out on a winning note with a game of 232.
Fera is a sophomore on an experienced Hawks’ squad that starts three seniors.
But she says no one is treated differently despite the differences in grades.
“This is a such a close team,” said Fera, who is enjoying her second year on varsity. “There’s a lot of togetherness, and we know if someone has a bad game, someone else will be there to pick them up. We’ve got a lot of great players, so there’s some high expectations — but you still have to put in all the hard work, and we’ve been doing that.”