VERSAILLES — The Tigers took a trip to Columbus to bowl on March 1 at Wayne Webb Lanes competing against the top 16 teams in Ohio at the OHSAA state tournament. This is the fourth appearance since the Tigers Bowling program began that the Lady Tigers competed as a team at the state level. The tournament format consisted of 3 regular games with 3 baker games following to give each team an overall score and then a cut to the top 8 teams to compete in match play. In match play a team advanced if they won best out of 5 baker games.

The Tigers were able to practice on the oil pattern Thursday at Wayne Webb lanes. “This was a very tough oil pattern which is what we expected. We practiced the whole week to help the girls understand the lane conditions and how to adjust their game. It was great to have the opportunity to shake off some nerves on Thursday and enjoy our time as a team heading into Saturday,” said Coach Phlipot.

Tournament play began at 10:30 a.m. and the Tigers were ready. The field consisted of Versailles, Jonathan Alder, St Marys, Bryan, Napolean, Greenon, Northwestern, Akron Springfield, Minerva, Struthers, Graham, Coventry, Hubbard, Hillsboro, Cardington Lincoln and Highland. They were paired with Napolean for game 1. The Tigers score for game 1 was 901 placing them at 3rd seed. “We got off to a good start game 1. As a coach I just kept encouraging the girls to relax and have a good time. We understood that our scores would be a little bit lower then we are used to bowling due to the tough oil pattern. Our team goal was to score around 850-860 each game,” said Coach Phlipot. Individual game 1 scores: Morgan Heitkamp (200), Lindsey Cheadle (197), Kalysta Thobe (172), Haddi Treon (167) and Morgan Barlage (162).

The Tigers were paired with Jonathan Alder for game 2 losing some ground scoring 789. “We moved to a different pair of lanes and the pair was not good, the scores were low on that pair all day,” said Coach Phlipot. Individual game 2 scores: Morgan Barlage (181), Kalysta Thobe (181), Lindsay Cheadle (163), Morgan Heitkamp (151) Haddi Treon/Jena Mangen 138. The Tigers fell to 7th seed after game 2.

Finally, in the last regular game the Tigers paired with Highland and scored 842. Individual game 3 scores: Morgan Heitkamp (204), Lindsay Cheadle (180), Morgan Barlage (162), Kalysta Thobe (158), Jena Mangen/Haddi Treon (138). The girls regrouped and continued to hit their marks well and only needed minimal adjustments as the oil changed throughout the day. With their consistency they gained ground again and were seeded 5th overall.

Individual Series/Place: Morgan Heitkamp (200, 151, 204= 555 and 12th overall) STATE HONORABLE MENTION, Lindsay Cheadle (197,163,180= 540 and 17th overall), Morgan Barlage (165,181,162= 508 and 38th overall), and Kalysta Thobe (172,178,158=508 and 38th overall)

Heading into Bakers our goal was to move up a few spots, the Tigers were paired up with St Marys. Baker scores for the Tigers: 194, 193, 168. The lineup for the Tigers was Kaysta Thobe, Jena Mangen, Lindsey Cheadle, Morgan Barlage and Morgan Heitkamp. The Tigers finished the morning in 4th seed only to take a break for lunch and then enter match play.

The Tigers faced the 5th seed Greenon in their first match up. The Tigers lost the series 1-4. Game 1 score V-181, G-182. Game 1 bowlers: Kalysta Thobe, Lindsay Cheadle, Haddi Treon, Morgan Barlage, and Morgan Heitkamp. Game 2 score V-163, G-204; Game 2 Kalysta Thobe, Lindsay Cheadle, Haddi Treon, Morgan Barlage, and Morgan Heitkamp. Game 3 score V-219, G-186; Game 3 bowlers Kalysta Thobe, Jena Mangen, Lindsay Cheadle, Morgan Barlage, and Morgan Heitkamp. Game 4 V-175, N-187; Game 4 bowlers: Kalysta Thobe, Jena Mangen, Lindsay Cheadle, Morgan Barlage, and Morgan Heitkamp. “We came up a little short today this was a true team effort for the Tigers with almost every bowler getting their hands on the ball,” said Coach Phlipot.

“I am very proud of the girls they put in the hard work through out the year. Today we just could not catch a break on our first shots. We threw a lot of good shots we just could not carry the corner pins. There always seems to be some teams that catch the luck for the day at the State tournament and we needed some of that luck,” said Coach Phlipot

The Lady Tigers finished their season strong being Sectional Champions, 3rd at Districts and 5th overall in the State. “It has really been a pleasure coaching this group of girls. They were focused, knew how to have a good time, and understood the importance of their team at each match. I want to thank the coaching staff who really are such an important part of what we do week after week. It’s been a pleasure coaching Seniors, Morgan Heitkamp, Morgan Barlage, Jena Mangen and Haddi Treon for 4 years and I hope they can carry some lessons they learned while bowling,” said Coach Phlipot.

Final Team Standings: St Marys, Bryan, Napoleon, Greenon, Versailles, Springfield Northwestern, Akron Springfield, Minerva.