[quote]By Turner Smith
Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Alexis Rizzi[/quote]

The girls’ bowling program honored their seniors in their loss to Plainfield North High School at Senior Night this past Wednesday. The program lost their first game, won their second, and lost their third. However, there was certainly still a bright spot for the program that evening, as they reflected on the accomplishments of their seniors.

Seniors Courtney Cusson, Abby Donaldson, and Alexis Dowell have led the program this year as the oldest bowlers on the team in their own individual ways. Certainly though, they’ve all had similar goals.

“This year we’ve focussed on having a strong leadership,” Donaldson said.

For this program, leadership is all about positive energy, both in and out of the lanes. “I’m trying to set an example for always being positive no matter what the score. I always try and stay upbeat whether I have a really good game or a really bad game, and I see it rubbing off on the younger people on the team,” Cusson said.

Since Cusson and Donaldson were both on the JV squad last season, that leaves an increased amount of pressure for Dowell as the only senior that is a returning varsity bowler. She brings the most experience to varsity side of the team. She’s been bowling at the varsity level for the past three years, and currently has the highest scoring average on the team.

“We really rely on the seniors, especially Alexis who has the only returning varsity experience,” head varsity coach Kristen Mansmith said.

The leadership of Dowell, along with the rest of the seniors, is a big reason that the program feels they’re headed into the playoff season with the right momentum. “We’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs, but we’re on an upward trend,” Donaldson said.

The team has certainly had a tough hill to climb, though. The team has dropped significantly in members from last season to this season, partly due to graduated seniors and partly due to fewer girls trying out. From the beginning, the team had to face challenges, but they’ve managed to do so with great success.

“This is an incredibly resilient team. They’ve never left a game not wanting to get better,” Mansmith said.