EDWARDSVILLE –The Edwardsville’s girls’ bowling team has improved significantly each week going into Monday evening's Southern Illinois High School Bowling Conference Southwestern Division match against Belleville East at Edison's Entertainment Complex in Edwardsville.
Edwardsville met a strong Belleville East team and fell 37-3, but first-year Tiger coach Kimberly Wilderman was still encouraged.
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“They did pretty well,” said Wilderman. “Some of the girls have been under the weather lately and haven't been able as many practices; after our first game, we had a nice talk and they bowled real well after that first game.
“I took (this season) as a rebuilding year; whenever I sit and watch the girls, just because they haven't been winning matches here and there doesn't mean the haven't improved. Most of these girls have made a 20-pin improvement this year and it's going to take a few years to rebuild the program to be where it once was. We have a place to improve; I'm very motivated by the things we were able to get accomplished this year, but we are definitely looking to next year to improve.”
Wilderman knows there are many things the Tigers can work on to get better as next season approaches. “This is a good place for us to start,” Wilderman said, “because we're at the bottom; the only place to go from the bottom is up. That's what we'll look to do next year. There were a couple of matches I think we could have had, but once we get things in rhythm and once we get things to be more automatic, like spares for example, those matches won't slip away from us as easily.
“It's always great to watch girls from Belleville East and O'Fallon; those programs are always excellent and they make really great models for my girls to watch; it makes it so much easier for me to explain to my girls what they can be doing whenever another girl is doing that on the lane right in front of them. I always have the girls think of it as a learning experience when they bowl great teams like this.”
Sydney Sahuri led the Tigers on the day with a high game of 200 and high series of 501 (107-194-200), followed by Rachel McTague with a 494 set (158-179-157) and Sam Linck with a 411 series (124-133-154). The Lancers were led by Abby Gray's 601 series, the day's top set (184-224-173); Grace Kowalski had a 246 in her second of two games on the day. Amber Carroll rolled a 504 series for the Lancers (167-185-152), with Hallee Fields turning in the day's best game, a 269 in the opener. As a team, the Tigers' best game of the day was a 739 in Game 2, while the Lancers' best game was a 984 in Game 1. East had a three-game team total of 2,777, while Edwardsville rolled a team total of 2,066.
The Tigers fell to 0-12 on the season, while the Lancers improved to 7.5-4.5 on the year. Monday's match was Edwardsville's regular-season finale; next up is the Feb. 4 IHSA Triad Regional at Collinsville's Camelot Bowl, where EHS will be one of 14 schools competing; the top four teams and top 10 individuals on non-advancing teams will move on to the Feb. 11 Belleville East Sectional at Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville. The IHSA Girls State Tournament is set for the weekend of Feb. 17-18 at Cherry Lanes in Rockford.
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