Bowling season ends at sectionals

by Eric Keppeler
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, March 1, 2007

Mike Nucci had hoped for better.

The Niagara-Wheatfield bowling coach had high hopes at the beginning of the season that at least one of his bowlers might make it past the Section VI Championship and move on the state meet next week.

Strictly speaking, he got his wish as senior Sarah Hillman is an alternate for the Section VI team, but the rest of the Falcons were shut out, including the boys fivesome that he thought might qualify as a team.

The girls placed a respectable ninth out of 52 teams last week at Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga, while the boys struggled to a disappointing 34th place.

“We fell on our faces,” Nucci said. “We had balls hooking right out of the house and we couldn’t adjust. The lanes were tough, but we just didn’t bowl well.”

The top scorer among the boys was junior Vinny Ciffa with a six-game set of 1,032 pins. Senior Brandon Smith was the only other Falcon above 1,000, eclipsing that mark by six pins.

It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise solid campaign.

The boys wound up 9-5 in the Niagara Frontier League, just a game behind co-champions Lew-Port and Niagara Falls. The Falcons also had four league all-stars as sophomore Joe Klis made the First Team with a 212 average. Klis also received a trophy for the high game in the league this year with a 299. Chris Lofstrand (207) and Andy Donner (204.97) made the Second Team, while Ciffa (201) was an Honorable Mention.

“I think the boys underachieved a little bit,” Nucci said. “They were capable of more. But all in all, it was a fun season.”

Hillman just missed out on a starting spot for the state team. The top six individuals qualify as starters, and the next two are alternates. Hillman wound up in seventh place with a score of 1,102, 14 pins behind No. 6.

Also at sectionals, sophomore Crystal Gravelle had 1,001 and junior Marisa delValle finished with 934.

The lane conditions at Thruway were not what anyone was expecting as oily edges and a bone-dry middle made for low scores all around. The finishes were especially disappointing as the Falcons had placed second and third in two tournaments at Thruway earlier this season.

“It was tough for everyone, but especially for the girls,” Nucci said. “They just don’t have the strength to fire it in there down the middle.”

The girls went 10-4 this season, behind only Lockport and North Tonawanda. The Falcons finished with a trio of league all-stars - all on the Second Team. DelValle and Gravelle averaged 190 through the season and Hillman averaged 186.

“The season as a whole was great,” Nucci said. “The girls wound up with the best record they’ve ever had in the four years that I’ve been here. We lost a couple of tough matches along the way, but for the most part I think we showed a lot of improvement.”