W.F. West girls bowling defeated a much-improved Tumwater team 1,953 to 1,822 total pins at Westside Lanes in Olympia Thursday night, moving to 3-0 to start the season.
“I was impressed with Tumwater’s team this year,” W.F. West coach Don Bunker said. “Teams in our league will have to bowl well to beat them this season. The Bearcats are battling and improving in every match, but are not quite firing on all cylinders just yet.
“The good news is that it is early in the season and we have some time for our team to settle in. We have some very good returning bowlers, but we are still waiting for someone to step up in a leadership capacity.”
In Game 1, the Bearcats (3-0) defeated the T-Birds 839-790, led by Clara Bunker’s 212 game. Bunker started the game with six strikes in a row. The Bearcats also saw some excellent bowling by TJ Hughes who rolled a 185.
“It has been amazing to see TJ’s improvement over the last couple of seasons.” Bunker said. “Hughes is a bowler that started on C-Team with very little experience and has steadily climbed to be one of the Bearcats’ most consistent bowlers. Our coaching staff is very proud of TJ’s work ethic and it has been incredible to see all of the hard work pay off for TJ."
Tumwater was led by Anchor Rylee Weeks who shot a 175.
In Game 2, the Bearcats squeaked out another win, 790 to Tumwater’s 753. The Bearcats were led by Piper Chalmers’ 189 game. Tumwater was led again by Weeks with a 171.
“Piper has been struggling a little bit so far this season, but I think we are really going to take off as a team when she settles down and bowls like she is capable of,” Bunker said. “It is only a matter of time. Piper is one of the top bowlers in the state.”
In Baker Game 1, the Bearcats rolled a solid 173 to defeat Tumwater’s 155. The Bearcats brought up Savannah Hawkins who is a standout fastpitch and volleyball player.
“Savannah is really picking up bowling quickly. She is a great athlete and is very competitive,” Bunker said. “She is really pushing for a fulltime varsity spot and gave us a nice spark in our first Baker Game.”
In Baker Game 2, the Bearcats were defeated by Tumwater 194 to 155. Bunker said the T-Birds had great rhythm going into the second game and it made the match a little closer than the Bearcats were hoping for.
For the second Baker game the Bearcats brought up another JV bowler, sophomore Brea Tracy, and was praised by Bunker for her performance in a varsity match.
“Brea is really improving quickly,” Bunker said. “She rolled a clutch strike in her first varsity action. It was really nice to see her perform under the pressure at the varsity level." Said Bunker
The Bearcats next have back-to-back home league matches: hosting Shelton on Nov. 30 and Black Hills on Dec. 2, both at Fairway Lanes.
