2008 Woodie Awards
Bowling on national radar
Pat Pickens
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
I have devoted a lot of time and energy in this space to mainstream sports. The kind of stuff one would see on ESPN, or tackling the big stories that have happened here.
Knowing this one would have to think that, considering the magnitude of this past weekend, I would bash the men's basketball team for their flat, embarrassing effort versus Central Connecticut St. or the bounceback performance of the women's team versus Fairleigh Dickinson, or even the impressive sweep of Mercyhurst performed by the hockey team.
But I'm not.
I'm going to talk about bowling.
(That's right let it sink in…)
(Waiting…)
(Are you ok now…?)
Ok, now let me tell you why.
Sacred Heart's women's bowling team is ranked eighth in the country by the National Tenpins Coaches Association (NTCA). They have gone to meets and have been thoroughly impressive, finishing no lower than fifth place at any of their competitions.
At their most recent two day showcase, the Pioneers finished 7-3, they finished third in the team tournament only to No. 1 ranked Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 3 ranked New Jersey City University.
This Pioneer women's bowling team is 35-13, considering that they do not have a home meet all year, and that there is just a single senior on the team, Christina Onderdonk, the future is looking bright for these ladies of the lane.
So what? What does it all mean you ask?
I love to bowl as much as the next person. I love walking around in goofy shoes, with a heavy ball trying to knock down pins. It is one of my favorite past times, as I'm sure it is a favorite of any of the other people reading this right now.
But along the same lines as golf, how many of us normal "average joe's" watch people that bowl a lot and find ourselves feeling stupid?
When was the last time you bowled a 300 game, like junior Juli Martirano, Bronx, N.Y.?
I can honestly say that I have never even bowled a 224, which is the low high score of anyone on the women's team.
I would be impressed if I bowled a 124!
To top it all off, they travel to practice at a lane in Hamden, most just for the sake of bowling, because Sacred Heart isn't handing out too many bowling scholarships these days.
Their next meet is this weekend in Baltimore at the Morgan St. Collegiate Classic. We'll see if they can keep their successful record up, especially with ECAC Championships and NCAA championships creeping up in the upcoming weeks.
So here's wishing some luck to these princesses of pins the rest of the way. They are damn good at what they do, they do it for the love of the game, and they don't get much recognition for it.
Knowing this one would have to think that, considering the magnitude of this past weekend, I would bash the men's basketball team for their flat, embarrassing effort versus Central Connecticut St. or the bounceback performance of the women's team versus Fairleigh Dickinson, or even the impressive sweep of Mercyhurst performed by the hockey team.
But I'm not.
I'm going to talk about bowling.
(That's right let it sink in…)
(Waiting…)
(Are you ok now…?)
Ok, now let me tell you why.
Sacred Heart's women's bowling team is ranked eighth in the country by the National Tenpins Coaches Association (NTCA). They have gone to meets and have been thoroughly impressive, finishing no lower than fifth place at any of their competitions.
At their most recent two day showcase, the Pioneers finished 7-3, they finished third in the team tournament only to No. 1 ranked Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 3 ranked New Jersey City University.
This Pioneer women's bowling team is 35-13, considering that they do not have a home meet all year, and that there is just a single senior on the team, Christina Onderdonk, the future is looking bright for these ladies of the lane.
So what? What does it all mean you ask?
I love to bowl as much as the next person. I love walking around in goofy shoes, with a heavy ball trying to knock down pins. It is one of my favorite past times, as I'm sure it is a favorite of any of the other people reading this right now.
But along the same lines as golf, how many of us normal "average joe's" watch people that bowl a lot and find ourselves feeling stupid?
When was the last time you bowled a 300 game, like junior Juli Martirano, Bronx, N.Y.?
I can honestly say that I have never even bowled a 224, which is the low high score of anyone on the women's team.
I would be impressed if I bowled a 124!
To top it all off, they travel to practice at a lane in Hamden, most just for the sake of bowling, because Sacred Heart isn't handing out too many bowling scholarships these days.
Their next meet is this weekend in Baltimore at the Morgan St. Collegiate Classic. We'll see if they can keep their successful record up, especially with ECAC Championships and NCAA championships creeping up in the upcoming weeks.
So here's wishing some luck to these princesses of pins the rest of the way. They are damn good at what they do, they do it for the love of the game, and they don't get much recognition for it.
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