Pieces in place for Lake Zurich bowlers as postseason looms
by jon kerr Contributor January 17, 2012 9:58AM
Lake Zurich's Tony Giannecchini, seen here during warmups, helped his team to a second-place finish in Saturday's Lake Zurich Invitational at the Brunswick Zone. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media.
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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:17AM
Every successful team needs a star — along with complementary pieces, filling in gaps necessary to achieve maximum potential.
Take the Lake Zurich High School boys bowling team. The Bears finished in third place at last year’s state meet. They have their star in junior Mike Schmitt, a runner-up in 2011 to two-time champion Kyle Anderson of Lockport. But gone are Nick Adamczyk and Steve Garcia, who had the two best scores for the Bears behind Schmitt at State last year.
This season, Lake Zurich needed to identify a rhythm guitarist, drummer and bass player to Schmitt’s lead vocalist. And the Bears believe they have the pieces, including a backup singer.
“We have four guys bowling well for us,” said Lake Zurich head coach Peter Kupfer. “We have some younger guys that are trying to figure out how to put it together.”
Two of those bowlers are more seasoned — juniors Quinn Nelson and Tony Giannecchini. During an invite at home on Saturday, the pair back-ended Schmitt’s top score (751 pins) with an 18th-place finish (Giannecchini) and a 22nd-place finish (Nelson). Each bowled three games over 200, the high being Nelson’s 236.
“They were consistent, and we need those guys to put up high scores,” Kupfer said.
The Bears finished in second place overall with a three-game total of 3,234 pins. Vernon Hills won the invitational, with last year’s state champ, Rockford Guilford, taking third.
Rounding out this year’s band of Bears are two bowlers new to varsity this season — junior Mike Wormley and sophomore Max Galarce. Wormley had his best tournament at the Cougar Invitational in December, and bowled a few games at last year’s state tournament. Galarce showed flashes as a freshman, placing in tournaments at the lower levels.
This raised the age-old debate for coaches of all sports: when do you bring a player up to varsity?
“I fluctuate on that,” Kupfer said. “Do you keep them down so they can have more success at the younger (levels)? Or will they have more confidence and be ready on varsity, and be not as nervous?”
This is one time LZ coaches are glad they made the move. And as the Bears roll into the sectional and state tournament, the Bears have all of their pieces in place.
Recap: Defending State runner-up Schmitt appears poised to make another run. The junior won the individual portion of the invite with a three-game score of 751, including a high game of 258.
One of the state’s better bowlers as a sophomore, Schmitt has improved in other areas.
“He’s been a great leader. He’s maintaining and growing and evolving into that role,” Kupfer said. “He’s performing just as expected. The lows aren’t too low.”
His highs have been spectacular — a 300 game and 800 series, both firsts for him in conference play. The 300 game got the most headlines, but his coach was more impressed with the other feat.
“In house shots, kids can bowl a 300,” Kupfer said. “That (800 series) can be more impressive.”
On the schedule: The Bears host Deerfield before bowling in a sectional tournament at Lakeside Lanes in Mundelein on Saturday.
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