Will no one stop these madcap Lady Wildcat bowlers?
The Wayland group did it again, copping first place in the Jenison Invitational Saturday, coming on the heels of winning the title at Cedar Springs last month just before the holiday break.
“My favorite thing about weekend tournaments is when we are the last team out of the building,” quipped coach Bill Holbrook. “This is their second straight tournament title, proving they are no fluke.
There were 12 ladies’ teams, including strong outfits from Lowell, Cedar Springs, Hudsonville, Unity Christian and Caledonia. But just like the Cedar Springs Invitational, the Wayland Union ladies started out solid and never looked back.
They shot an 880 their first team individual game to give them an early 33-pin advantage. They continued their momentum in the second team individual game with a 920 for a two-game total of 1800 and increasing their lead to 152 pins over second-place Caledonia.
Highlighting the team individual games for the Lady Wildcats was Senior Lizzy Cobb who fired a 189-230=419 to place third on the five-member All-Tournament team.
The team was solid top to bottom in the individual games with senior Au
bree Hodges 127; junior Erin Porteous 168; sophomore Marissa Bruinsslot 152-199=351; junior Alicia Sweeney 195-159=354 and sophomore Sydney Urben 217-164=381.
The Lady Wildcats increased their lead in the both game Baker sets with consistent bowling, firing a 165-138-168=471 in set one and 159-152-199=510 in set two. The ladies finished qualifying in first with a total of 2781, 190 pins better than runner-up Unity Christian. Qualifying first placed the Lady ‘Cats directly into the championship game as they awaited their opponent in the step-ladder finals.
Hudsonville took down Cedar Springs, Caledonia took out Hudsonville. In the third match Caledonia continued the strong bowling, taking out Unity Christian and earning a spot in the championship match against Wayland.
The Lady Wildcats picked it up where they left off with solid bowling and good spare shooting, taking an early 15-pin lead after game one with a 169 to Caledonia’s 154. The ladies followed that up with another solid performance in the the second and final Baker game firing a 178 to Caledonia’s 143 to win the match and the Jenison Invitational title.
“Today was all about team bowling,” Holbrook commented. “They were steady and strong all day long with solid spare shooting and giving very few pins away. We never got really hot, but managed to shoot clean games and grind away. In the Baker format the ladies only fired one very good game with a 199, but every other game was solid making it very difficult for anyone to catch us.
“This team’s depth, chemistry, confidence and fight were highlighted today. Their confidence is growing every day and they are realizing that they don’t have to have great days to be competitive. They only need to be consistent and do the best with what they have. If they do that, they are finding that they are a very difficult team to beat!”
Up next is two conference matches, the first being a home match Tuesday vs South Christian.
PHOTOS: Lizzy Cobb placed on the all-Jenison Tournament team.
Lady Wildcats celebrating their second straight championship trophy are (from left) Sydney Urben, Erin Porteous, Aubree Hodges, coach Bill Holbrook, Lizzy Cobb, Alicia Sweeney and Marissa Bruinsslot. (Photos supplied)
