BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Brick Township’s hopes of sweeping the girls and boys bowling titles in the Shore Conference Northern Division ended when the boys team dropped all three games to Jackson last week in a championship showdown.
The girls, who lost one game in their three-set against Jackson this week, still finished in first place, seven games ahead of Jackson, for its first conference title since 1995.
As for the boys, Brick Township and Jackson were tied for first place going into their match last Thursday, but a 636 series from Bob Klimas, a 624 from Rob Osborne and a 600 from Terry McMahon were not enough for Brick Township, which had come in off winning the Ocean County championship.
“In the first game, we lost by eight pins and it came down to the 10th frame, and that took a lot out of us,” said coach Cara Lukosius. “We’ve been in a little bit of a slump. I told the boys that maybe they should take a couple of days off from practices and playing in leagues. They’re playing constantly and sometimes that can be tiring.”
With the top two teams in each division qualifying for the Shore Conference tournament, Brick Township’s runner-up finish guaranteed a spot in the Feb. 15 Shore Conference Tournament at Shore Lanes in Neptune. Before that, the Green Dragons play in the state sectionals at Maple Bowl in Pennsauken next Saturday.
“They absolutely can bounce back,” said Lukosius of her team. “They know the next couple of tournaments depend on how they bowl out of Ocean Lanes and they seem to do better out of that house.”
Brick Township girls, meanwhile, travel to Cherry Hill on Saturday in the state sectionals. The team won the last two NJSIAA titles.
“I think we’re ready,” said coach Linda Sarraf, whose team comes off a second-place finish in the Ocean County Tournament. “I think the team has done very well, taking our division for the first time in quite a while. I think they’ve committed it in their minds to finish with a bang.”
Just like the past two seasons.