Lancers eye Niagara Frontier League bowling title

by Eric Keppeler
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, December 16, 2006

The Lewiston-Porter boys bowling team came within a whisker last season of repeating as Niagara Frontier League champions. Now head coach Mike Kankolenski thinks the Lancers have the tools to reclaim the crown they last won in the 2004-05 season.

The Lew-Port boys finished 11-3 last season in the NFL, but one loss to Niagara Falls late in the year was enough to drop them from first to third behind the Wolverines and North Tonawanda. The girls team struggled as a whole last season, but they had some very solid individual performances.

Kankolenski is looking for improvement all around.

“For the boys, I believe we’ll be in the top two in the league,” he said. “It should come down to us and Niagara Falls. For the girls, it depends on how well we can stay in games. We’re very young there, but we think we can win at least half of our games and make it to sectionals.”

The Lancers welcome back two-time state competitors Jeremy Janese and Savannah Zientara to anchor their respective lineups.

Janese placed fourth in Section VI in each of the last two seasons to advance to the state tournament last year, averaging 195.7. His average in 2004-05 was 217.2, which is the second highest in school history. He was edged out that year by Lancer teammate Chris Zimmerman with a 218. That team set a number of school records, including three-man single game (802), nine-game series (2,129) and six-man series (4,202).

Janese is one of three seniors who are six-year varsity competitors. Zane Tester (192.7 last year) and Ryan Plante (196.5) round out that group. The Lancers also welcome back senior Greg Tarnowski, who missed last season because of conflicting work schedules.

Rounding out the top six are sophomore Kyle Donovan, who has a team-high 220 average through three matches this season, and freshman Mike Grannis.

“I definitely think the boys have a good shot at the NFL title this year,” Kankolenski said. “We have the skills to get it done.”

Zientara, in her fifth year with the team, has been dominant. She placed second at sectionals in each of the past two years to advance to the state meet, boasting a 194 average in 2004-05 and a 185.8 average last season. Through three matches this season, she’s cruising at a 214 clip, and she’s already broken her own single series school record with a 703 set earlier this year.

Senior Tabitha Dominguez is back for her sixth year with the program. She averaged 169 two years ago and 178 last season.

The rest of the girls team is all new players, including sophomores Breanna Maglio and Barb Ventry and freshmen Lauren Rutherford and Kelsey Munroe.

“A lot depends on how the younger girls do,” Kankolenski said. “We definitely have the ability to compete in the league and then go to sectionals. And individually, I think both Jeremy and Savannah have what it takes to go back to states again.”