After everyone on the Stuyvesant girls’ varsity bowling A team, the best and most competitive squad of the Pinheads, hit spares in the second frame, a complete rotation in which each bowler gets two bowls, they returned to the bench to receive a head nod and high-five from coach Peter Bologna. Rookie and junior Tiffany Wan, who was anchoring for the A team, stepped up to the foul line and watched her ball bowl just to the right of her sole standing pin. It would the first of six spare chances she missed in Monday’s game against High School of Fashion Industries.
Wan currently has the highest average score both in practices and in games despite her recent missed opportunities. According to the Public School Athletic League (PSAL), Wan is averaging 129.25 in the four games that she has bowled. “People don’t say it, but I know [they] expect me to get high scores,” said Wan.
“She [does] well. I can’t complain as long as my girls are trying their hardest,” said Bologna. Wan’s teammates describe her as an “amazing and strong” addition to the team.
Wan is not the only star of the team. With fourteen players on the team, the Pinheads have only two rookies and 10 veterans. “After a year of experience, we can handle ourselves under stress now,” said senior and co-captain Lucy Peng who only played in one game and bowled 115. The other co-captain, senior Connie Leong is averaging 127.67 in three matches.
With so many returning members, the team can easily identify its strengths and weaknesses. “No matter what, we play the best players,” said senior Amanda Chiu. The best members are those with the highest average scores. The team always puts the members with the four highest averages on the A team, the next four highest averages on the B team, and so on.
The Pinheads believe their experience will allow them to advance farther in the playoffs than they did last year after a first round playoff loss to South Shore High School by a score of 2-1.
“Everyone has improved from last season, so I think we have a better chance in playoffs,” said senior Michelle Chau.
Bologna resigned as Coordinator of Student Affairs (COSA) before the season’s start to focus more on the team. He felt that he could not devote adequate time to both his COSA position and his coaching job. “I didn’t feel that I could put one hundred percent into both. So now, I’m more available, with games and practices,” said Bologna.
However, the Pinheads do not believe there will be much of a difference. “He says he’ll be more committed to his teams, but it’s not like he wasn’t before,” said Chau.
