By: James McKeever
It was a rough couple of days for the South Brunswick boys bowling team.
The defending Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament champions reached the GMCT quarterfinals, but lost to East Brunswick 2-1 last Thursday (Feb. 5).
Two days later the Vikings tried to regroup in the NJSIAA Central Jersey sectional, but finished 12th in a 39-team field and failed to qualify for the state finals. The top four teams in Central Jersey advanced: North Brunswick (3106), Woodbridge (3046), Monroe (3007) and East Brunswick 3001). The Vikings finished with a 2798 set, with games of 949-886-963.
"We didn’t shoot well (in the states),"’ said Vikings coach Mike Andrusiewicz. "Not to make excuses but I think my kids were bowled out. It’s a long season and they bowl a lot of games, coupled with how many games they play on their own. We started out with a 949 but after the second game we realized it was over and relaxed in game three."
During the regular season South Brunswick and East Brunswick played twice and tied each other both times in GMC Red Division action (Teams bowl three games, each team receiving one point for winning a game, and one point for most total pins).
In the best-of-three GMCT match, the Vikings started strong with a 995 and won by 32 pins. Ben Bleacher (223), Jon Schulter (215), Rob Kohutanycz (215) and Matt Forthun (206) all rolled 200 games.
In game two, East Brunswick pulled even with a 963-938 victory. Forthun’s 216 was the only South Brunswick 200 game.
In the decisive match, the Vikings fired a very solid 1085. East Brunswick topped that with a sizzling 1116. Bleacher led South Brunswick with a 246, Forthun was steady again with a 216 and Matt Lenza crossed the boards for a 220.
It all wasn’t enough.
"The 995 wasn’t that great, but it was good enough to win,"’ said Andrusiewicz. "East Brunswick is a very good team, but we gave them the second game. We weren’t making spares. After that game we said, ‘OK, it’s 1-1, let’s get down to business.’ We rolled a 1085, which was a good score. But they were just a little bit better.
"It was a tough match. If you bowl poorly you expect to lose. But sometimes you bowl your best and that’s not good enough. It was a very good match. Win or lose there are always lessons to be learned."
GIRLS
The Viking girls knew what they were up against.
On Tuesday, in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals, the Vikings faced the tough task of playing Woodbridge for the right to advance to the final. That’s undefeated GMC Red Division champion Woodbridge, which beat South Brunswick twice during the regular season, by scores of 4-0 and 3-1.
"We all knew we had to come out strong and make sure we made our spares,"’ said Vikings coach Tara Burniston. "We didn’t want to be psychological about it because going against Woodbridge, you know that they’re undefeated and if you think about it too much you can lose your confidence.
"We came out strong for the first couple of frames, but then we missed some spares and then we started falling apart."
The Vikings’ run to the finals was stopped short by Woodbridge, which won the best-of-three series 2-0. Woodbridge won the first game 1020-852 and the clincher 913-903.
"We had a little trouble making our spares and that’s what killed us,"’ said Burniston, whose team advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Mother Seton last Thursday (Feb. 5) in the quarterfinals. "You can’t make mistakes against Woodbridge and we did. They bowled a 1020. That’s incredible."
Burniston said her team bowled much better in the second game, losing by just 10 pins, and gained some confidence in the process. They’ll need to carry over the positive feeling into the NJSIAA state championships, which will start, 10:30 a.m., at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick.
The Vikings are making their first appearance ever in the state finals. South Brunswick’s Lauren Sohmer, a senior, and Suzanne Bleacher, a freshman, will compete for the individual state title in addition to trying to help their team give their best performance.
"In the second game we made it close against Woodbridge,"’ said Burniston, whose team finished third in the Red Division race with a 14-3-1 record. "We were better by 51 pins and we almost forced a third game, which I’m very happy about. Pretty much everybody bowled their average. So we ended on a positive."
Now the Vikings are hoping to take that momentum into the state finals.
"I could sense after the match that they were putting the loss behind them and starting to focus on Friday,"’ Burniston said. "The intensity the girls came out with for the last couple of frames in the second game was great. Suzanne finished with six strikes in a row. That intensity that we left with will hopefully be the intensity we bring to the finals."
South Brunswick’s solid showing in game two against Woodbridge was led by Bleacher, who rolled a 202. Sohmer and Mary Lynn Olsen each crossed the board for a 191. Sohmer produced the team’s highest game in the opener with a 183.
In beating Mother Seton last week, the Vikings won 907-731 and 881-852. Lisa Nicolaison rolled a 216-157. Laura Smith produced a 185-160. Christine Kelly followed a 133 game with a 213. Bleacher rolled 179-171 and Sohmer recorded 169-180. Olsen helped with 158-156.
