Coming off a 10th-place finish at the Five Seasons Classic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Nov. 2, the women’s bowling team entered their Nov. 15 matchups against Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan in DeKalb looking to build on their early-season growth.
With six First-Years joining the roster after the loss of three seniors, the team has spent the past few weeks adjusting to new roles and a different level of competition. The four returning bowlers have taken on heavier leadership responsibilities, guiding the newcomers through the season’s opening stretch and helping the group develop its identity on the lanes.
Considering the team was bringing many First-Years into the program, it was noticeably younger than in years past. The influx of newcomers has brought new energy, new expectations and a new dynamic to the lanes. As the group continues to adjust to the pace of college competition, their growth has already caught the attention of Head Coach Martin Resner, who is now in his fifth season.
“The First-Year group has stood out because of its size. The last couple of years, I have had only one new bowler to add to the team,” Resner said. “To now have the majority of the team be First-Years is a shift. The high school transition is tough in bowling, and there is a big learning curve. This group, like many others before them, has stepped up to that challenge.”
As the only senior on a roster filled with underclassmen, Samantha Olson has naturally become one of the team’s main leaders. Her experience, such as helping Augustana secure a fourth-place finish at last year’s CCIW Tournament while averaging 174 points across five games, has given her a perspective that the younger bowlers have leaned on early in the season.
Off the lanes, Olson said she’s taken on an important role, guiding the newcomers through the academic and personal transition into college life.
“I’ve definitely reached out a lot and to be like a role for these freshmen, to just also be able to ask questions about school in general,” Olson said. “The transition from high school to college for bowling is hard, and just teaching them not to put a lot of pressure on themselves, you know, you’re a freshman, you’ve got some time to just enjoy it.”
The Vikings’ early-season meets were as much about learning as they were about competing. Junior Cassie Kontos saw the opening dual meet serve as a baseline, with a chance to rotate lineups and find out where each bowler fit best. As the weeks have gone on, the team has begun to settle in together, build chemistry and develop the routines that give them energy on the lanes.
“The first meet that we had, it was like a practice run, especially because we have more than half the team as new members,” Kontos said. “Because it was like a practice run, we had a lot of people switching in and out and then seeing where they would bowl best, and position-wise. We’ve definitely changed a lot, especially now that we’ve kind of gotten cheers down too. The cheers definitely get us hyped enough to go and bowl.”
Next up for the Vikings is the first CCIW tournament of the season on Nov. 22 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It’s a chance for the team to test themselves in a larger field, carry forward the progress they’ve made and continue building momentum as the season unfolds.
As the Vikings approach the meet, the focus is on building on the progress they’ve made in recent practices. The team has spent the past week working through new drills designed to refine their form and highlight areas for improvement. With a smaller competition ahead, the emphasis is on applying those adjustments while also having fun and enjoying the meet with the team.
“I want to take what we’ve done and kind of grow from it,” Kontos said. “We have been doing a lot of practices involving drills that we’ve never done before that’ll help us show our form, or what we’ve been doing wrong with our form, and take those drills and use them in a better way, use them to learn more about how we roll.”
