Brugioni bounces back to boost Grant past Lake Zurich

Brie Brugioni dealt with more than just the physical aspects of bowling during a North Suburban Conference girls match Thursday afternoon at Brunswick Deer Park Lanes.

Brugioni also needed to adjust the mental part of her game after opening with a 137 game.

But once the Grant junior got on track and figured out the lane conditions, she responded by rolling games of 233 and 214 en route to a match-high 584 series.

With Brugioni leading the way, Grant soared to victory in all three games and series to post an 8-0 sweep over Lake Zurich. The Bulldogs toppled 2,601 pins, while the Bears had 2,253.

"I wasn't playing the lanes like I should've been playing them," said Brugioni, who carries a 195 average. "I just really had to calm down and let things happen.

"The first game was tough to bowl mentally. It shows a lot, that I can come back to bowl almost a 100 pins better. It wasn't all that bad, because I was able to bounce back."

"(Brugioni's) got the ability to see what the balls are doing," said Grant coach Beth Miller. "It's a learning curve for her, moving fast enough to make the adjustments. She's learning how to read it and knowing to go to other equipment. It's a matter to be focused and keeping her head in the game."

In the third game, the Bulldogs rolled their first 900 game (917) of a match this season to go with games of 810 and an 874.

"Averages are going up and they're bowling together as a team," Miller said. "We should keep things going after the holidays."

Grant's Caitlin Loving posted a 550 series with a 207 high game, while teammate Lydia Wells shot 516.

Amie Fisher led Lake Zurich with a 457 series, Colleen O'Donovan rolled a 458 and Steph Hoff shot 457.

"Going against Grant our girls didn't bowl that well," said Lake Zurich coach Mel Fox. "The last few days, the girls have been bowling great. When they all bowl together, we're pretty good. We've scored 2,400 to 2,500. Grant was strong and a great team. Seeing Grant over 900 in the last game was great to see."