With only two starters returning from last year’s Shore Conference and NJSIAA Group III championship girls bowling team, this season appears to be a tough challenge.
But the Brick Township High School team is ready for the task and goes into the season regarded as one of the top five teams in the state in some polls.
“We lost [to graduation] Nicole Nardiello, Kaitlyn Dorey and Lisa Francaviglia, who gave us so much energy, but with the girls coming up, we feel comfortable,” coach Linda Sarraf said. “We have three strong bowlers, and that makes you feel more comfortable so you can move only two girls in and out of the varsity lineup more easily than three or more. They know exactly what I expect and what we need to do and they’re focused on it.”
Senior co-captains Katarina Kiseli and Ashley Lane have bowled well in preparation for the season opener that was slated for Dec. 1 against Brick Memorial and for Saturday’s first weekend tournament of the season — the Bishop Ahr Holiday Classic at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, won last year by Brick Memorial High School.
But sophomore Kaitlyn Nardiello, Nicole’s younger sister, has been out with a sprained foot, and it’s not certain how much of the early-season action she may miss. Lane has picked up some of that slack with what Sarraf considers an “absolutely fantastic” preseason.
“I have six girls who can bowl 200 games. It’s not a bad way to start,” Sarraf said.
Sophomore Emily Robertson and junior Briana Kraus, who was on the junior varsity last year, are vying for starting spots. But the two divided their time in the fall playing other sports — Robertson playing soccer and Kraus playing volleyball. Two freshmen also are looking for roster spots, including Madison Lukosius, whose mother coaches the Brick Township High’s boys team, and Sydney Scelfo.
“Madison looks extremely strong and Sydney is showing promise for being on the varsity roster at some point during the season,” Sarraf said.
Brick Memorial, meanwhile, is carrying only six bowlers, less than its customarily deep squad. But coach David Thompson said the team “is coming along very well” despite gaping holes in the lineup left by graduated standouts Jess Abrecht and Kim Icker as well as Kelsey Mulvaney.
“In the past, I always praised the depth of my team, but this year is completely different so the girls have more pressure put on them on a regular game-to-game basis,” Thompson said. “The girls know this. They’re real competitors and want to win. I think they’re going to thrive.”
Senior anchor Jordyn DeMont, the lone returning regular starter, is the captain, and three other bowlers return from last year’s team that won the Brick Tournament, including junior Johna DeMont (Jordyn’s sister) and sophomores Corinne Maher and Kelly Nicosia, who got considerable playing opportunities as the first reserves last season. Two other expected returnees are out at the start of the season, one by choice and the other to concentrate on her schoolwork to return to the team in February.
“Despite being down two bowlers, the four girls who lead us would start on any team in the state; the fifth spot had been a question mark,” said Thompson, although Kristen Mazurek, who split time on varsity and junior varsity last season, has played well enough to merit the fifth spot.
“She has a brand-new ball and has been throwing it great and we’re excited about her because she is a senior who has waited and truly earned her spot,” Thompson said.
Sophomore Amanda Roman is the sixth and final bowler on the roster.