The Boys Bowling team competed in the State finals on Jan. 31. The team sent eight of their most qualified bowlers, who ranged in years from sophomores to seniors. Hopes were high for the hard working team.
The current team consisted of primarily seniors, all of whom have worked since freshman year to make it down state together. Head Coach Scott Durkin said, “Our goal was to make it down State, which we did, so moving forward the goal would be making it next year.” With competition starting on Friday, New Trier was unable to collect on spares and left over pins, which set them back.
Senior Andrew Textor said “When the team went down to state, the goal was for the entire team to do well. Unfortunately, after the first game, the team was down a significant number of pins. Throughout the day, the team was not able to make up for the lost pins.” With senior Sam Shepard scoring 200 points and above in 5 of his 6 games, and Senior Textor scoring above 200 in 5 of his 6 games as well, New Trier was off to a mediocre start, but they were able to turn it around.
“The first day, I was playing with my team and was able to bowl well, with the support of my team. At the end of the first six games, I had a total pin count of 1275,” said Textor. Everyone was excited after a strong comeback showing by New Trier and the progress the team had made this season. Junior Will Delva said, “Our team performed well above the expectations we had at the start of the season. If someone had walked up to me at the start of the season and told me that our team would be going down state, I probably would have had trouble believing them. But through hard work, we finished the season very strongly.”
Each bowling alley has different advantages and disadvantages, and the team often finds themselves challenged with every new alley they encounter when competition is so fierce. “There’s little room for error, basically make good shots, strike often, and pick up spares. Down state it’s pretty intense completion as far as bowling goes,” Durken said.
Since the difference between a first place team and a second place team is only one or two pins, the Trevians needed to stay focused and work together, and without buckling under the pressure. 6 of the 8 bowlers who went to state were seniors, which puts the team at a loss of core bowlers next year. Durkin said “We’ll lose a lot of seniors, so next year is a rebuilding year, but we have a few strong sophomores and juniors, and we had a strong freshman class for bowling this year.”
Even though the team is losing three quarters of the squad, every player is excited for the next season. Dellva said, “It is going to be a tough year for our team, but I know many of the bowlers who are returning have already begun to practice again.” Dellva said, “With the new alignment for our Regional and Sectional tournaments, we believe that as a team we can hopefully snag a spot to go down state again.”