Mott Bowling Week 8 Recap

By: Coach Jerry Tarabek
January 24, 2003

Warren Mott Girls Varsity Clinches First Division Title, Boys Their 2nd

This past Wednesday, the Warren Mott Girls Varsity Bowling team clinched its first ever Southeast Division title. Lead by their team captain, Nikki Wilczek, the Lady Marauders outpaced a very good Warren Cousino team to move their record to 8-0 and take a three game lead in the division, with only two weeks left. The Warren Mott Boys Varsity team also clinched their division title this week, their second consecutive, by defeating the Patriots of Warren Cousino 26-4 and also taking their record to 8-0.

The Lady Marauders showed they had some ability to come back this week as they fell behind by losing the first baker match to Cousino 141-140 but pulled it together the second baker game by shooting a fine 193 to Cousino's 114 game. This gave the ladies a 6-4 point lead going into the team match play. In the match play, individual points leader Kim Felix ran her personal record to 14-1-1 as she continues the steady improvement she started last season. Even though she was coming off being sick, Kim rolled a fine 199 game, her high for the season as she took two game points. Kim's twin sister Lindsay Felix also bowled well as she took a match play point to move her record to an impressive 13-3-0. Lindsay has moved to the anchor position on the team and has bowled all season against the best bowler on the opposing team, which makes her record even more of a success story. Captain Nikki Wilczek was not to be outdone by the twins as she rolled a very nice 202 game in the second match play game and ran her record to 12-4 with two wins. Junior Nicole Griebe ran her record to 13-1 as she posted a 183 game and Jessica Tyler also won a match point, also while being very sick, to now stand at 11-4-1 for the season. The ladies next meet the Lady Cougars from Macomb Dakota who stand at 3-5 and are battling for third place in the division.

The Boys Varsity team also clinched its division title with an impressive 24-6 victory over Warren Cousino. Baker games have been of prime attention for the boys and they showed that bowling 14 baker games in practice paid off a little. The boys came out and shot a nice 247 the first game and followed that up with a 203, only to gain a split as the Patriots shot 226 in their second game. The boys then moved on to what they do best, match play, as they won 18 of the 20 match play points to cruise to the victory. Captain Jon Kennedy posted his best scores of the season by shooting 244 and 265 for a 509 series, second best series in the division this season. Brian Lake continued to stroke very well and posted solid scores of 258 and 223. What, no 300 this week Brian? League average leader Justin Neiman showed he was not ready to turn over his league lead just yet as he shot 228 and 222 to remain ahead of Brian Lake by less than two (2) pins in average for the season. Jeff Peltier, who was pressed into duty on the varsity team this week, shot a fine 211 the first game and split his match play points. The boys rolled the second highest team score they have shot this season by totaling 2178 for the match play portion of the meet by shooting 1125 and 1053 for their games. Individual points are being racked up by each of the boys as they sit on top of the points leader board with Justin Neiman (15-1), Chris Lepkowski (12-2), Paul Narlock (11-1) and Jon Kennedy (11-5) all in the top 5 in the league. The boys next meet Macomb Dakota who stand at 4-4 in the division and still in the running for second place.

The Boys Junior Varsity sits atop their division as well but they do not have the title yet. With a 1-1/2 game lead over second place Warren Cousino, they need only win one of the last two meets to clinch their first ever division crown. This week, they posted another victory to move their record to 7-0-1 by defeating a stubborn Sterling Heights team 24-6. Lead by John Breaugh, who broke out of a long slump by shooting 213 and 202, the Junior Marauders shot a big 932 and 880 match play game to post their best team series of the season with 1812. Mike Kusmierz, who continues to improve each week, stepped into the anchor position this week and shot 202 and 177 to win both of his match play points. Mike moved to the anchor position when Jeff Peltier was pressed into duty on the Varsity squad. Jason Provencher also bowled well, coming off the bench the second match play game to score a 212, his best game of the season. Individually, the boys are keeping themselves in the hunt for the points title as Mike Kusmierz (10-2), Keven Beasley (9-1), Jason Provencher (7-2), Darryl Sage (7-2) and Jeff Peltier (7-2) all are posting solid scores each week. Next week the boys face Macomb Dakota for the third time this season. This is quickly turning into a good rivalry as each time they have met the meet seems to go down to the last ball rolled. Dakota stands at 4-1/2 - 3-1/2 in the division and still in the hunt to finish third in the standings.

The Girls Junior Varsity lost again to the boys this week as Macomb Dakota defeated them 22-8. The loss dropped the Junior Lady Marauders to 2-6 for the season with two weeks remaining. The ladies came out well in the bakers by shooting a couple of 130 games and leading Dakota after the baker matches 6-4. However, the Junior Cougars proved to be too strong as they took 18 of the next 20 points for the victory. Junior Erika Wagner, who started bowling at the start of the season, posted her high score of the season with a 138 game, as did Lauren Bascilico who shot a 137. Lauren won her two matches for the only two points the girls would win in the team match play to move her point total to 3-12 for the season. The ladies have bowled hard all season and have steadily improved along the way. They will receive an automatic bid to the regional tournament, which will be held at Classic Lanes in Rochester Hills on March 1st and 2nd. This will be a great learning experience for this team and one that will be a stepping-stone for next season.

Just a little side note, one of the assistant coaches, Brandon Tarabek, last seasons Boys Varsity team captain, shot his 3rd 300 game this past weekend in the Detroit City Tournament. Along with that he put games of 233 and 280 together with the perfect game to roll his first ever 800 series by shooting 813. Congratulations go out to Brandon.

Also, don't forget, the fundraiser is quickly approaching and reservations are being taken in advance. Don't be too late and not have the spots available you are looking for, call early.

Jerry Tarabek / Head Bowling Coach