On Dec. 4, varsity girls bowling defeated Vernon Hills in a close match.

New Trier won 2 of 3 games, winning the overall match by a close final score of 2777-2559. Considering that Vernon Hills was the 2018 conference champion, this victory was a huge success.

Head Coach David Hjelmgren said he saw some great bowling during the match. He felt that the girls played their hearts out, and he pointed out some stand-out performers.

“Sophomore Maya Palomino led the Trevians with a high series of 491. Maya rolled her first ever 200 game which was extremely exciting. Senior Sarah Hughes rolled a 489 series. Shannon Burgert rolled a 485 series and leads the Trevians this year with a 174.5 average,” said Hjelmgren.

Hjelmgren saw this win and a recent win over GBN, another difficult competitor, as the team’s greatest achievements so far this season.

“It’s still early, but wins over GBN and Vernon Hills to start the season for such a young team is amazing,” said Hjelmgren.

Because Vernon Hills is the Trevians’ toughest competition this season, this match had been much- anticipated. It’s fairly early in the season and the girls are still warming up, so preparation for the match focused on getting back in the groove of competition.

“Our team has been working on reviewing the fundamentals of bowling. This includes the mechanics of our swing along with targeting and positioning,” said Hjelmgren.

With the season just starting, the girls are looking forward to getting competition under their belts. In particular, they are excited to begin tournaments.

“I’m looking most forward to our tournaments. They’re so much fun and such a great bonding experience for the team,” said Vickery.

Junior Rory McKeough, is looking forward to keeping the team rivalry with Evanston alive.

“I’m looking forward to our match against Evanston. We have a running rivalry and there’s a bowling pin that we decorate and pass back and forth to whoever wins,” said McKeough.

This year’s team feels different from years past. There are eight new varsity bowlers this season, putting the 10 returning players in leadership roles.

“This is the youngest team that I have ever coached. We have two seniors, one junior, nine sophomores and six freshmen,” said Hjelmgren.

Despite this new team dynamic, the Trevians are making it work. Hjelmgren is proud of how the team is coming together as one regardless of experience or grade level.

Vickery is impressed by how fast the team has come together. She sees a real difference in this year’s team from last year’s

“Our rookies are already showing an incredible amount of improvement and us returners are already back into the groove of things and the improvement since our previous seasons on the team is really showing,” said Vickery.

The excitement about the new bowlers is felt team-wide. Fellow sophomore Shannon Burget agreed withVickery.Sheisenjoyingthenew energy of the group.

“We are still trying to find our identity. What is amazing is that every single person on this team is open and willing to work on creating that identity together. I love the positivity and willingness to learn that this team possesses,” said Hjelmgren.