Wrenn, Tenyer swap spots; Schaumburg wins girls bowling title

Emma Wrenn and Sarah Tenyer have enjoyed nothing but success in Mid-Suburban League girls bowling since bursting on to the scene as freshmen two years ago.

As a matter of fact, Barrington's Tenyer and Hersey's Wrenn - who have bowled together on travel teams for years - finished 1-2 in conference last season, with Tenyer just edging fellow sophomore Wrenn for the crown.

This year, the pair again finished first and second in the MSL as juniors, but the roles were reversed.

Wrenn won the MSL individual championship Saturday at Arlington Lanes with a year-long average of 205.72, the highest in the league in five years.

Schaumburg took home the team trophy, defeating second-place Hoffman Estates 185-172.

"This means a lot, especially with the shot difficulty today," said Wrenn. "Every strike you had to hit exactly right on - in other words you had to be consistent, and consistency is something that I've struggled with."

Stunningly, Wrenn and Tenyer were separated on the scorebook by only .16 heading into Saturday's final game 6, with Wrenn standing at 206.08 and Tenyer at 205.82.

Tenyer would have needed at least a 17-pin advantage over Wrenn in the sixth game to take the title, but instead Wrenn outbowled Tenyer 192-177 to makes some Hersey history as the program's first-ever individual bowling champ.

"I thought Emma came out and bowled amazing today," said Hersey coach Julie Arias. "We've been working really hard with Emma on her timing, changing her equipment and adjusting - and also focusing on the mental game and learning how to handle stress. She accepted all the information we've given to her and put it to good use."

The Saxons went wire-to-wire for the team title this year, but were challenged mightily by the Hawks, who defeated Schaumburg 9-0 last Monday in conference play to pull within 1 point of first place heading into the conference meet.

But Schaumburg was able to pull away for the championship as freshman Kylie Frick finished fourth in the league in overall average at 199.05, followed by teammate Sarah Schwind with 197.64.

"I think that we were in a slump when we got beat by Hoffman," said Schwind, a senior. "That loss Monday kind of woke us up. We came out strong in the first game today with a plus-1,000 series. It was loud here and it was a good environment, and that good first game got us excited."

Schaumburg coach Mark Kelly had no doubt what drove his team to the win this season.

"The girls had a great work ethic," said Kelly. "They were willing to learn, put in a lot of hard work and were dedicated. That was the big reason for our success."

Jessica Soskich of Buffalo Grove finished third individually at 200.90 behind Tenyer's 205.08.

Robyn Konrad from Rolling Meadows finished sixth with a 197.44, Anzela Anzalone (193.74) from Conant was seventh, and Prospect's Arie Upshaw (193.54) took eighth.

Upshaw electrified the crowd at Arlington Lanes Saturday by rolling a 298 game, highest in the league this year.

The junior was in the spotlight after throwing strike after strike in her second game of the day, but when she rolled her last ball in search of a 300, she didn't have a good feeling.

"Right at the nose I said, 'oh darn, this is gonna be a split.' The big four were still standing but the when the two on the right fell down, I was happy. I wanted to break the school record."

Upshaw did just that, as her 298 broke the previous Prospect high of 297 (by Amy Ward) that had stood for 17 years.

Hersey finished third in the team competition, followed by Prospect, Buffalo Grove and Fremd and Conant, who tied for sixth.

Amanda Richae (193.54, ninth in the MSL) and Jordyn Fera (192.36, 10th) both made huge contributions to Hoffman's second-place finish.

But it was Wrenn who finally earned the top spot after three years of stellar play, and even with her win she was still more focused on her team's success.

"I thought we had a good year," said Wrenn. "We lost three great players from last season (to graduation), but I couldn't be prouder of the girls who stepped in this year to replace them.

"I thought I held my ground this year," added the junior. "There were nights I struggled and there were nights that I was better than average, but in bowling, that's to be expected."