Progress typically doesn’t come in dramatic leaps and bounds, but gradually. Step by step. Piecemeal.
The Southold/Greenport high school boys bowling team took two significant steps earlier this season when it won its first two matches in, well, an awfully long time. They were 30-3 and 27-6 wins over East Hampton. READ
Bowling is similar to comedy in at least one respect: It’s all in the delivery.
And that’s no laughing matter. READ
Southold High School boys bowling coach John Meyers’ goals are relatively simple for this season.
“I have a lot of new bowlers this year,” he said. “I’m hoping to get better than the year before. That’s my goal.” READ
The Southold High School bowlers may have figured what they were in for when their late-arriving opponents from Longwood showed up at Wildwood Lanes on Monday with personalized bowling shirts that had their last names embroidered in neat script on the back.
The Southold High School boys bowling team has a new coach, but an outlook that looks the same.
Jen Jaklevic rolled a 465 series for Southold in its loss to Riverhead at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead. (Credit: Garret Meade)
BLUE WAVES 31, FIRST SETTLERS 2
When the bottom two high school boys bowling teams in Suffolk County League IV faced each other on Monday, they both saw it as an opportunity to walk away with points, something that hasn’t been too plentiful for either side this season.
It was Riverhead that garnered the lion’s share of them at Southold’s expense. Three Blue Waves rolled three-game series scores of 564 or higher in a 31-2 win.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Emily Pressler had a 447 series for Southold against Riverhead at Wildwood Lanes on Tuesday.
BLUE WAVES 30, FIRST SETTLERS 3
In bowling, it’s not so much how a ball is delivered that counts as what the ball does once it is thrown down the alley. The Visek brothers need look no further than at each other to appreciate that point.
Riverhead High School senior D. J. Visek has an unusual two-handed throwing style that he adopted to get out of a slump. His younger brother, freshman Jon Visek, adheres to the more conventional one-handed approach.
The two dramatically different throwing styles have brought similar results. D. J. Visek said that once the ball leaves their hands, it has similar action. Quite often that action sends pins flying, producing spares and strikes.
That was the case Monday when both Riverhead bowlers excelled. Jon Visek capped a career-high 783 series with a career-high 290 game as the Blue Waves beat Southold, 30-3, in a Suffolk County League IV match at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead. He delivered 11 straight strikes during the third game. In the first two games, he rolled a 248 and a 245.
D. J. Visek didn’t have a bad day, either, a 683 series from game scores of 203, 255 and 225. It was the fourth time this season that he hit 600 or higher.
The brothers combined for 50 of their team’s 79 strikes, 27 by Jon Visek.
Jon Visek started the day with a team-leading 206.04 average. D. J. Visek was third at 197.04, behind Forrest Vail’s 199.54.
The Viseks were the only Riverheaders to bowl in all three games. Nine Blue Waves bowled at least one game as Riverhead swept the three games, 922-747, 955-779, 1,028-717.
Among the other highlights for Riverhead were a 204 by Mark Stewart, who also employs a two-handed throwing style, and a 202 by Joe Gambino.
Riverhead, which entered the match in fifth place, has won 17 of 27 games and accrued 182 1/2 points.
Last-place Southold, which is 0-33 in games this season with only 22 1/2 points, was led Monday by Kaitlyn Kettenbeil’s 531 series, topped off by a 189 game. Jess Jerome added a 448 series, Emily Pressler had a 447, Mike Insogna a 427 and Jen Jaklevic a 290.
DANIEL DE MATO PHOTO | Mike Insognia, a freshman, is part of a new-look Southold team that is in rebuilding mode.
COLONIALS 30, FIRST SETTLERS 3
The Southold boys bowling team has undergone a dramatic change, and that’s not just because some of the team’s more prominent bowlers are girls.
Having lost eight bowlers from last season’s team, including its five starters (ouch!), the First Settlers are in a definite rebuilding mode. With that knowledge, coach Sal Campo may have braced himself for the new season, which started this week with predictable results: one-sided losses to Southampton and William Floyd.
The First Settlers are raw. None of the nine team members, five of whom are girls, are seniors. For many of them, their first taste of varsity bowling has been rough.
Southold opened the season inauspiciously on Monday with a 32-1 loss to Southampton at Wildwood Lanes in Flanders. Southampton swept the three games handily, 729-516, 701-563, 744-607.
Bowling in another League IV match on the same lanes Tuesday, Southold was beaten, 30-3, by William Floyd.
It was an impressive season opener for William Floyd, whose coach, John Romero, said Wildwood Lanes is usually not kind to his team. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, though, as the Colonials dominated in total wood, 2,985-1,892, and received 600-plus three-game series scores from three bowlers. Chris Trotta, who rolled a 246 in the first game, finished with a 657 series. Brandon Cahill, bowling in the leadoff spot, registered a 628 series with a high game of 229. Pierce Field was model of consistency, stringing together scores of 211, 214 and 218 for a 643 series. Freddy Kaucky added a 522 series.
Trotta and Field delivered 18 strikes each.
Southold was led by Emily Pressler, whose 190 in the third game wrapped up a 536 series. Pressler, a junior, had 10 strikes and 14 spares, both team-high figures.
The First Settlers also received a 398 series from Kaitlyn Kettenbeil and a 385 from Jessica Jerome.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Southold senior Ben Glew, who sat out last season with a broken collarbone, is the only First Settlers bowler with prior experience as a starter.
EAGLES 32 1/2, FIRST SETTLERS 1/2
It was a new beginning for the Southold High School boys bowling team in more ways than one.
Southold, with a new lineup and a roster that is short on experience, was beaten soundly, 32 1/2-1/2, in its season-opening Suffolk County League V match against Rocky Point on Thursday at Port Jeff Bowl. Rocky Point won all three games, 835-653, 887-597, 816-583.
If nothing else, the First Settlers saw evidence that they have a lot of work ahead of them.
“What I anticipated is about what happened,” Southold coach Sal Campo said. “We fell short of the scoring that we’d like to get to, but we didn’t have many practices before this game, so it was a little tough.”
None of the five bowlers in Southold’s starting lineup were starters last season. In fact, only one of them, Ben Glew, had started a high school match before. Glew, a senior, had been a regular starter during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but sat out last season with a broken collarbone.
Meanwhile, Rocky Point was led by an impressive sophomore, Kyle Zawaski. Zawaski, a virtual strike machine, recorded three successive 202 games for a career-high 606 series. He registered 18 strikes and seven spares.
Rocky Point coach John Schumacher never saw a player bowl the same score in three straight games before. “There’s always firsts,” he said. “In the world of coaching, you see truth is stranger than fiction. You see amazing things.”
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Devyn Standish was part of Southold’s all-new starting lineup on opening day.
Zawaski, who finished with a 155 average last season, his first on the team, was definitely on. In the last two games of practice the day before, he shot a 192 and a 197. It was encouraging stuff for the Eagles.
“It gives me goosebumps because it’s only a sign of things to come,” said Schumacher.
Rocky Point also received significant contributions from sophomore Rachel Magnuson and senior Will Serviss. A 222 game by Magnuson anchored her 561 series. She also converted a match-high 13 spares. Serviss bowled a 226 high game to start off his 525 series. Mike Bellissimo turned in a 420 series.
Schumacher sounded thrilled with his team’s opening-day performance. “It’s a tremendous way to start the season,” he said. “It sets the tone for the season. It really keeps the morale high.”
The top scorer for Southold was junior Justin Kirincic with a 428 series. His 167 in the opening game was the highest single-game score posted by any of the First Settlers. Evan Van Duzer (389 series), Glew (368) and Devyn Standish (326) were the other Southold bowlers who played in all three games. Kirincic and Van Duzer had 10 strikes each.
This new season brings a new home for Southold. The First Settlers have left Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead and now practice and play their home matches at the new All Star Lanes in Riverhead. Their first home match will be Tuesday against East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson.
“The switch between lanes is a lot different,” Kirincic said. “It is a lot to get used to.”
Following the season-opening loss, Kirincic said: “I think we could definitely do better throughout the year. I think we just have to pick up our spares more.”
The day wasn’t a total loss for Southold, though. Every game helps, even a loss.
Campo said, “The pressure is on them and they know that they’re going to have to step it up a few notches.”
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Brayan Palencia posted a team-leading 499 series for Southold in its loss to Eastport/South Manor.
SHARKS 25, FIRST SETTLERS 8
A high school boys bowling team that is trying to find its way must look for positives wherever it can find them. Southold found 900 pins worth of positives on Tuesday night before heading out into the cold night air and onto the team bus for the ride home.
Those 900 pins that Southold downed were enough for the First Settlers to win Game 3, but they were preceded by two games that Eastport/South Manor won, 873-763 and 934-696. The Sharks triumphed, 25-8, in the Suffolk County League V match at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead. It was Eastport/South Manor’s fourth win and Southold’s fourth loss in as many matches.
The 204-point jump Southold made from the second game to the third was a source of encouragement for the First Settlers.
“This game we did amazing,” Southold senior Brayan Palencia said after the third game. “If we could do that like every game, it would be pretty decent.”
But it has not been that way for the First Settlers this season. Just the day before, on these same lanes, they were handed a 29-4 defeat by Westhampton Beach. Patrick Smith posted a 546 series with a 195 high game for Southold in that match.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Patrick Smith of Southold threw a 497 series against Eastport/South Manor on Tuesday. He had a 546 series with a 195 high game against Westhampton Beach the day before.
It was rough going for Southold on Tuesday — until the third game.
Eastport/South Manor was clinging to a 766-760 lead heading into the 10th frame. Kieran Brodarick came through with a 191 and Palencia put up a 190 to help Southold take the game, 900-871.
Don’t think that wasn’t soothing salve for the soul.
“Even though they lost, they felt good about it; they felt good about that third match,” Southold coach Sal Campo said. “They need that. They need that confidence.”
He added: “You know what they say, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game? Sorry, if you keep losing, it’s not going to help. You need to build your confidence to win.”
Eastport/South Manor qualified for the county tournament last year and finished ninth in Suffolk, but the Sharks have only one remaining starter from that team — eighth-grader Doug Pinelli. Eastport/South Manor coach Charles Ferro calls it a rebuilding year for his team, but what a rebuilding year. The Sharks started the day in second place.
“We’re looking forward to being competitive this year, and then next year is really [when] we’re looking to really knock it out of the park,” said Ferro.
The Sharks needed to adjust to Wildwood, where the lanes aren’t as oily as those in their home alley, Shirley Lanes.
Still, Quentin Montemarano didn’t do badly. The junior adjusted from his first game, consistently threw the ball around the pocket and rolled up scores of 213 and 218 to complete a 593 series. Montemarano, who has a 188.75 average this season, registered 13 strikes and 14 spares on the day.
“Quentin’s doing a great job right now,” Ferro said. “He’s really stepped his game up. He’s really serious about what he’s doing. You can see the difference in his game. He’s picked up about 20 pins on his average from last year, which is really nice to see.”
Three other Sharks bowled 500-plus series. A high game of 216 helped Dallas Hayes to a 550 series. Pinelli, aided by 13 strikes and 15 spares, finished with a 542 series. Brian O’Sullivan had a 527.
“We’re 4 and 0, but we could have had a lot more points than we took,” Montemarano said. “We blew probably a good 20 points we could have had, so we’re hanging in there.”
Southold was led by Palencia’s 499 series. Smith had a 497 and Zach DePaulis a 486. Palencia recorded 12 strikes and 13 spares while DePaulis had 16 spares to go with his 10 strikes.
A pleasant development for Southold, however, has been the play of sophomore James Perry, who is new to bowling. Perry replaced Garret DeFriest for the third game and rolled a 170 with five strikes and a spare.
The third game was Southold’s best of the season and something to build on.
“It was very encouraging,” Palencia said. “By this [third] game, that shows that we have potential. We have to show it more.”