Bowling Port Chester Rams and Lady Rams lose three matches even as scores improve

December 14, 2023 at 12:18 a.m.

Sophomore Austin Nij, letting his ball go at Bowlerland in the Bronx, is an established Port Chester Ram bowler. (Courtesy photo of Jeanine Maiolini)

It is a game filled with lots of ups and downs, but bowling can be fun, a way of letting off steam, instilling discipline and honing hand-eye coordination as you let loose and follow the ball down the lane. So even when you lose, as Port Chester has done in its last three matches over the past week to New Rochelle, Pelham and Scarsdale, you usually come away with a sense of accomplishment that comes from exercising your body as well as your mind.

      

What makes it fun, not that losing is ever really fun, is the fact that Rams and Lady Rams student-athletes are teaming up with the school's true bowlers to keep PCHS in the game against Westchester's more competitive bowling schools.

Different scores, scorers

The fluctuating scores show how different leaders have a way of stepping up under the guidance of head coach Jeanine Maiolini who has a knack for bringing out the best in her players.

At different times in different matches, for example, All-Section soccer player Nick Tellez matches up well against such established Ram bowlers as Austin Nij, Gabriel Cueto, Tony Nievecela and captain Trevor Sullivan. And volleyball aces like Skylar Sams and Emily Garcia and tennis league championship players such as Jaresiah MacDonald and Lucia Giordano and Lady Ram soccer players like Gioiella Pastena and Sophia Maldonado show they can compete with more established Lady Ram bowlers such as Lesley Santamaria, Pamela Cardeal, Kyla Haley-Williams and Liseth Zaruma.

That makes for an interesting mix of talents as evidenced by the way Port Chester has played in its most recent matches at Bowlerland near Co-op City in the Bronx.

Loss to New Ro

In its match against New Ro last Wednesday (12/6), for example, Port Chester lost to New Rochelle with a total wood of 1,656 to 1,358. Tellez led the Ram scorers with a high of 119 in game three and an average of 105 for the match. Nazir Demera was next high scorer with a 96 average, followed by the closely-bunched Nij (94), Nievecela (92) and Cueto (91). Sams led the Lady Rams with a 104 average, followed by Garcia (99, including a team match high game of 123) while Santamaria (80) Zaruma (59) and Haley-Williams (55) were also among the high scorers.

In the closest match of the three last Thursday (12/7), Port Chester lost by slightly more than 100 points to Pelham with a total wood of 1,663 to 1,545. This time around it was Nij who led the Rams with an average of 118 for the match (including a high of 129), with Sullivan matching his 118 average while Cueto rolled a game high 132 on his way to a 106 average. The Lady Rams also lost a close match with Pelham winning with a total wood of 1,431 to Port Chester's 1,296, Garcia edged Sams for the team lead with an average of 106 to Sky's 98 while Cardeal averaged 88 with a team high of 122, MacDonald averaged 73 and Santamaria 64.

Raiders win out

In their latest loss to Scarsdale Monday (12/11), the Rams lost by a total wood of 1,969 to 1,473. But Cueto bowled his way to the best game of the week by hitting a game high 155—including four strikes in a row—while averaging 121 for the match, followed by Nij (105), Tellez (97), Andrew Palacios (94, including three consecutive strikes), Demera (80) and Nievecela (71). And the Lady Rams lost to the Lady Raiders by a total wood of 1,494 to 1,371 with Garcia the leading scorer for Port Chester with an average of 120 (including a match high 152), followed by Pastena (103), Sams (95), Maldonado and Giordano (85).

So even as Port Chester dropped the three matches, the changing scores and high scorers indicated progress. And Maiolini is looking for still more progress during her team's upcoming match against White Plains Monday (12/18) at 3:30 p.m. at Bowlerland, Port Chester's last match before going into the Christmas break. And despite the losses so far, the Ram and Lady Ram bowlers keep improving their scores, and that is the way they want to go from here on out, win or lose, although winning would be better—and a lot more fun.