Girls Bowling Storms to Finals
With so many talented young bowler, the team’s future looks bright. Photo: Continental Studios
By SARFRAZ KHALBASH and BENJAMIN NIRENSTEIN
with contributions from RINZA QAISAR, MAHNOOR HUSSAIN, and SOPHIA LIN
The Girls Bowling team finished second in the city, their best performance in 12 years, losing only to Tottenville in the finals on November 18 at Funfest Bar & Lounge.
Midwood’s Team A accomplished their highest combined score this season in the first round, though they still lost 637-592. However, the B team kept them in the game with a vital win of 461-438. Although the effort was there, Tottenville played just as well, beating Midwood’s Team A in Round 3 with a score of 703-641.
“We played our best all season,” said Mr. Michael Giordano, the team’s head coach. “There’s nothing else we can ask from the bowlers. They did exactly what we needed to do. It's just that Tottenville was a bit above us today.”
The championship game was close throughout, as with every frame of the round the lead switched hands. Midwood usually started off strong with a lead of 20 pins, but Tottenville would catch up, and it would be a head-to-head battle after the third frame.
Mr. Giordano described the championship as “exciting, very much stressful at times” and “on edge.”
Sophomore Chloe Liu, the A team’s leading scorer, achieved a career high of 223 pins in the third round against Tottenville. Pins fell like dominoes as she bowled an astounding six strikes, with five in a row in the first half of the round, but Tottenville’s Brianna Mester, Zaranur Pinar, and Meagan Brady bowled 204, 180, and 175 respectively.
“Although we couldn’t win in the championships, we still played our best, and even with the loss, we are all happy that we got this far,” Liu said.
“It’s a great feeling to see hard work, time, effort, money, and sacrifice all pay off,” said Mr. Giordano. “You know, we all have things going on at home, and these kids are doing great academically, but they make time for practice to get better. I always promote that hard work pays off and it did. We’re here, we’re in a championship game, we’re seeded second in the city, and we finished second place in all of New York City. It’s a great accomplishment.”
Liu wasn’t the only one with an impressive high score. Senior Leyli Zeylanova, another A team bowler, had her own season high – an impressive 171 pins.
Junior Emily Impoco, the leading scorer on the B team, also got her season high of 150 pins. She was close to matching this again when she was subbed into the last round, where she bowled a 138.
Both teams remained positive and retained good sportsmanship throughout the finals. Even the parents were complementing how everyone played.
Midwood’s dominance showed throughout the season as they carried a 9-0 record into the playoffs for a dominant 3-0 win against Louis Brandeis High School, another 3-0 win against New Dorp, and a 2-1 victory over James Madison.
Tottenville themselves weren’t a team that won just by luck. They too went undefeated with a perfect 10-0 season. The players on the Tottenville team are “good enough to have a career in college,” Mr. Giordano said.
Tottenville’s Brianna Mester and Zaranur Pinar showed remarkable growth and consistency from their past seasons. But even with that experience, Midwood stayed with them, neck-and-neck until the end.
“We’ve been improving every week, which has been really great to see,” said Mr. Giordano. “Watching the players grow, once being strangers and now becoming friends, and witnessing the product of hard work and determination have been some things I’ve enjoyed overseeing.”
“[Mr. Giordano] motivates us to always be the best version of ourselves,” said Impoco. “He creates a loving, welcoming environment and never fails to make the team laugh with his corny dad jokes or weird phrases. One thing I’ve learned from being on the team is that as long as you ask questions and are willing to listen to advice, you’ll definitely grow as a bowler.”
“I am so glad I joined bowling,” said senior Leyli Zeynalova. “It was a fun way to relax but also get a feel of competition. It was such a fun experience – I wouldn’t trade it for any other.”
As Midwood’s leading scorer is only a sophomore and there are many talented young players on the team, Midwood’s future is looking bright.
Mr. Giordano has high hopes for next year's run. “It’s looking promising,” he said. “We have a lot of returning players, and we have much more room to grow. I don’t think we’ve reached our max potential. The biggest things will be more consistency, more practice, and to just keep building.”