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Lady Panthers open season with rare ECIC II loss
The Lady Panthers, 34-0 the last three seasons in ECIC II, dropped its league opener, 4-3, last Wednesday at Legion Lanes. Sweet Home dropped all three of its "A" team points, won all three on "B", but lost total pin count by 37 pins (2238-2199). Despite the loss, coach Jim Russo is not worried. "I think it was a fluke thing," said Russo. "Hamburg was much improved and a couple of our girls hit a tough spot. It was their first match away from Manor II Lanes and didn't adjust well to the conditions on the lane. I mean, they didn't do terrible but it was enough to lose the match." Russo said he thinks another reason why they didn't win was because the team has three freshmen in the starting lineup who are still maturing as bowlers. The starting freshmen are leadoff "A" and "B" team bowlers Charlene Cinelli (156 average last year) and Kaylee Kaminski (144 average last year, her brother, Ryan, bowls on the boys team) and Gina Picone (164 average last year, bowls third on "A"). All three are entering their third year with the varsity team. Cinelli and Picone bowled on "A" last year, as did senior anchor and co-captain, Amanda Page, who has been with the team since eighth grade. Page averaged a team-high 172.9 last year and will more than likely have the team-high average this year. "Amanda throws with a lot of speed and can adapt to different lane conditions," said Russo. "She just doesn't have one thing in her arsenal. She's a little more versatile than other girls in that she can hook the ball real well and she'll rely on her speed when the lanes are hooking to control the hook." Cinelli shot a team-high 560 series against Hamburg with a high-game of 195. Bowling second in the lineup on "A" is senior Nikki Giselman, a four-year bowler who has improved her average significantly from last year (134 to 153). Behind Kaminski on "B" are seniors Shannon Huebert (154 average last year, fourth year) and Jill Nasisi (158 average last year) and junior anchor and co-captain, Maggie Wahl (164 average, fifth year). "Maggie brings a little stability to the 'B' team," said Russo. "She's been in that 162-164 range for average the last two or three years. She's got a better mental game than other girls on the team. She may not have the talent of an Amanda Page but she's more aware of what is going on in a match - the need to make a spare or get a split." Others on the team are Kaitlyn and Nicole Grunszweig, a junior and sophomore, respectively, Amy Chang (pronounced Chung), a senior exchange student from Taiwan, sophomores Nichole Griffin and Courtney Smith and freshman Jessica Fugate. Smith returns for her second year. Russo said everyone on the roster will be put in every match. Russo thinks his starting eight are as good as anybody in the league. "We have eight or nine girls around the 160 mark," said Russo. "Picking up a couple of spares is the difference between a 160 and 175, so they could improve quickly." Before the Hamburg match, Sweet Home opened with an 11th place finish at the Maryvale Holiday Tournament on Dec. 3 at Airport Lanes. "We missed a ton of 7-pins," said Russo. "I'm not sure why that was."
Sweet Home defeated Iroquois, 7-0, on Monday at Manor II. They travel to Transit Lanes at 4 p.m. on Wednesday to bowl Williamsville South. |
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