Girls bowling: Lake Zurich's Kouros starts season with perfection

A 300 game is bowling's perfect game and Lake Zurich junior Amanda Kouros accomplished that feat last week.

She's the first Bears' girls bowler to do so in the program's 15-year history.

Kouros rolled her 300 in the season-opening virtual match victory over Warren Feb. 3 at Bowlero Lanes in Deer Park.

On the 12th and final strike, her nerves were there, but somehow Kouros knocked down all 10 pins for the perfect game. Most bowlers feel like the ball gets heavier throwing the last one.

"Surprisingly, no, it felt a whole lot lighter, Kouros said. "I just totally mentally blanked out on the last shot. It felt totally unreal in that moment. I just forgot that I was bowling, I threw the ball, looked up and realized that I actually just did it."

Kouros' two previous games were 176 and 184 with the 300 adding to a career-best 660 series.

"That 300 game really came out of nowhere," Kouros said. "I was thinking, if I had the 300 game first I would never be able to regain my focus for the last two games."

Kouros' next goal is matching her grandfather's 812 series in the future.

During her big game, she knew it was different and her nerves started to find her after the seventh frame.

"Right after I threw the seventh ball, I knew that something was going to happen," Kouros said. "Before this the most strikes in a row I've thrown was eight. So I knew after the seventh one that I was past the halfway point in the game. If I can finish this out the game, I knew I could get a 300 game. I was psyching myself out between the seventh and 10th frame. I was thinking that I can't mess this up and I've come this far."