Rolling Meadows' Meyer leads opening night

There were some nerves to be sure, as expected on the opening night of the Mid-Suburban League girls bowling season.

But any apprehension was quickly squelched by some outstanding individual and team performances.

Brittany Meyer of Rolling Meadows bowled the evening's top game (257) and Elk Grove junior Caerlina Williams rolled a 689 series to lead all competitors as the Mustangs, Grens, Conant, Prospect, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates all posted victories

"I was a little nervous," said Meyer,"but once we got out there and started bowling, the butterflies disappeared, and we really got into it."

"We've put in a lot of work the last two weeks, and it paid off with a great start," added teammate Katia Smith, whose 613 series helped lead the Mustangs to a win over Barrington.

Williams recorded games of 247 and 245 in the Grenadiers' victory over Palatine, while Schaumburg won over Buffalo Grove as Taylor Kallhoff (647 series) paved the way.

"My teammates kept picking me up and cheering me on," said Kallhoff. "I couldn't have done it tonight without them."

Hoffman Estates (Liz Saffold, 201 high game) led Hoffman Estates to a win over Wheeling, while Conant senior Stephanie Vura posted three games over 200 (234, 217, 202) as the Cougars topped Fremd.

"This is awesome - amazing," said Vura. "We started strong, fell apart a little in the second game, but picked each other up in the third game."

"I was really impressed with my team and the way we supported each other."

Prospect's triumph over Hersey was highlighted by games of 202 and 201 from Whitney Schmidt.

"With the first match, you never know what to expect," said Prospect coach Greg Troyer.

"Hersey is a good team and this was a battle right down to the last game."

Samantha Rossdeutscher rolled a 573 series to lead Fremd; Jennifer Schmitt finished with a 598 for Wheeling; while Molly Jackson rolled a 192 and Mariah McVay and Deanna Guyton each bowled a 180 game to highlight Buffalo Grove's effort.

Rachel Boldt was tops for the Huskies with a 197 in game 3, Palatine's Ashley Cramer impressed with a 583 total, while Stephanie Gedeller led Barrington with a 155 game.

Brianna Carroo of Conant pitched in to the Cougars victory with a 235 in the opening game.

"It was a little nerve-wracking out there tonight," said the senior, "but that (being nervous) actually helps a little and relieves some of the pressure."

"Our coach (Jennifer Childress) had us bowling 5-against-5 this week in practice to get us ready for the (MSL) competition, and that helped a lot."

There was a note of triumph in the Barrington camp at the end of the evening as the frosh-soph Fillies team scored a victory.

"That's our first win at any level," said Barrington varsity coach Sam Raia of the fledgling Fillies program, in only its second season of competitive bowling.