A great team effort led the Minooka varsity girls bowling team to win their match against Plainfield East on Nov. 30.

The match was played at Channahon Lanes, where Minooka finished with a final score of 2389 and Plainfield East finished with 2035. 

This was their first home match of the season and second outing. To win their very first home match was a huge confidence booster for the team. 

“I would definitely pick to bowl at our home bowling alley just because I know the lanes, which I think sometimes is an advantage just because it is not a common bowling alley to bowl at, unlike others,” senior Bri Gillson said. 

Gillson led all scoring for Minooka with a score of 615. Although her start wasn’t everything she had hoped for, she made an adjustment and finished strong. 

“I feel I performed pretty good, I struggled the first two games but then I was learning off the mistakes I made to have a better thesis,” Gillson said. “I came and bowled very well and was happy with my results.”

Gillson is one of the oldest girls on the team. Most members of the previous years’ teams had graduated. This makes the team consist of a lot of freshmen and sophomores. 

“I would say my team is pretty young because most of the other teams just had juniors and seniors on their team, so now it’s more freshman and sophomores. I would definitely say it has an impact because it’s something new they have never experienced, and they don’t know what to expect,” Gillson said. 

Other top bowlers for Minooka included sophomore Annie Honsik, sophomore Ashley Plum, and junior Natalie Schildhouse. 

Schildhouse, although being a junior, had the pandemic affect her years of previous bowling so many might expect her to be nervous about bowling again. Instead, she kept cool and stuck to her plan. 

“My game plan was to stay confident in my spare targets and find a comfortable spot to play and move off of,” Schildhouse said. 

The team has had lots of success in recent years. Multiple state finishes, and potentially more if Covid had not canceled last year’s state series. Head coach Frank Yudzentis compared his current team to those of the past. 

“I think this team is just as good as past teams,” Yudzentis said. 

Playoff hopes are very high for the team. The players are confident in their abilities and believe that they can do damage in a state tournament. 

“My prediction is that if we keep on staying focused, we will be able to place top five in each tournament and top five at state,” Gillson said. 

The team hopes to ride these high spirits and momentum into their upcoming matches in the future.