After a strong win versus Yorkville on Tuesday, December 10th, the girls’ varsity bowling team took on Plainfield South last night, winning all 3 rounds to gain all 10 points.

The Wolves were 3-1 going into the game looking to achieve another win. They had been very successful in their season by only losing one game. Junior Kissy Villadores helped the Wolves pull off a win and receive 10 points. They finished the game outscoring South with 2,829-2,519. 

“The team has been very successful in most of the games we’ve had so far and this game was one of our best. We bowled really well, especially because only a few of us had committed to practice outside of the season,” Villadores said. 

When they were in the bowling alley every girl had their teammates back. They had chants and would high five each teammate on their return back from trying to knock down as many pins as they could. No matter how many they knocked down they cheered them on. 

“What helps me succeed is my team. It’s so cliche but when my team is hyped and ready to beat the other team it also gets me hyped to beat the other team. We like to rub off of each other’s attitude and if the mood is down we try to cheer up and motivate each other,” sophmore Johanna Ashley Zaportiza said.

In the first round East had 947 points winning over South’s 879 points. Zaportiza helped contributed by putting up 177 points. Junior Samantha Rodenbostel was East’s best bowler of the night. She had put up 214 points in the first round. 

“We had good competition this game and I feel it pushed all of us to do better than we usually do. I personally am happy about how this game went,” Rosenbostel said. 

However she hadn’t been bowling that great in the past games. This was her first time reaching 200 points in a round and she did it in all 3. The second round was her best with a score of 236. East won that round 898-810. In the last round to help the Wolves win 984-830, Rodenbostel had 212 points. 

Rodenbostel didn’t win the game on her own though. She had help from her teammates. Senior Maile Harper played a part in the game and was very consistent overall with her bowling. Her best score of the night was 198 points in the first round.

“I was successful today because of my teammates. They are all so positive and cheerful it helps me do my best. I am so proud of all my girls,” Harper said. 

Harper had been sick and wasn’t feeling her best lately. With the help and encouragement of her team she went into the game strong and ready to play. She helped the Wolves secure a win. 

“We like to rub off of each other’s attitude and if the mood is down we try to cheer up and motivate each other.”

— sophomore Johanna Ashley Zaportiza

“I know that when one person gets sad or upset, it’ll affect the rest of the team. When I start to get in my own head I try to get myself out of it and focus on the next frame. There’s no point in focusing on one single bed frame. l know that I’ll always have my teammates to cheer me up when I do get in a slump,” Villadores said.

Bowling is a lot of mental strength. They know they can’t get down on themselves when they mess up. They have to put the bad roll behind them and move on and look forward to the next roll. Every good team knows improvement is always possible. The Wolves are a strong team and know they need to keep working to get better. 

“I think we just have to keep working on our spare game. This season we have been missing a lot of easy spares. It’s starting to come around. We are getting better and better every day. We work on it in practice, so hopefully we continue to get better,” Head Coach Darrin Tackett said.

Bowling is a team sport but it’s individual first. Not everyone on the team has the same strengths or weaknesses. They each have something they can try and do differently and improve on for games to come. 

“For the next game I need to practice my consistency on where the ball goes. Sometimes I hit the pins way too far on the left or way too far on the right,” Zaportiza said.

With the season still so early and a 4-1 record, the girls ability to compete and win has already been on full display. It only sets up for bigger and better goals down the road, and the team is going to do their very best to reach them. 

“Hopefully we get to state on cherry lanes at the end of the season as a team. We have already been doing so great, we just need to continue what we’ve been doing but with improvements,” Villadores said.

The Wolves next game is a tournament at Plainfield North on Saturday December 14th. The tournament starts at 4 p.m.

Alex McPhee is a sports writer for Oswego East High School’s online news magazine the Howl