With the loss of some of their best players from last season to various colleges, the Saint Ignatius varsity bowling team has been faced with a difficult challenge, one which they have met in stride.

With the addition of three new freshmen players – Dylan Huss, Ryan Wallenhorst, and Andrew Fornadel – the Alley Cats have shaped up to a total of eight skilled athletes, who are off to a very promising start for the 2017-2018 season.

Over the past two weeks, the team has faced off against two formidable opponents, Westlake, and St. Edward, and come out both times to take the OHSAA point.

In their first match of the year against Westlake, the Alley Cats came out to a strong start. The Wildcats won by a narrow margin of only 60 pins, thanks in large part to junior Vinny Doran ‘19, who bowled an impressive 618 series with a high of 251 pins.

The next week was even more of an improvement, and led to the defeat of that other Catholic boys’ school, whom the Wildcats know all too well. Winning by a whopping 407 pins, Saint Ignatius handily took the OHSAA point, and is looking forward to more improvement in the weeks to come.

Under the leadership of captain Anthony Doran ‘18 and head coach Jim Viets, the team is shaping up well. The Wildcats hope to do even better at this Saturday’s match, and their first tournament of the year the day after, the Saint Ignatius Invitational. 

Not to sound too corny, but the team really seems to be “on a roll” heading into the heart of this year's schedule.

Scores:

Saint Ignatius Ignatius vs Westlake

Dylan Huss: 162, 207, 130

Alex Gehrlein: 178, 177

Vinny Doran: 199, 251, 168

Anthony Doran: 180, 180, 150

Alex Madeja: 143, 156

Ryan Wallenhorst: 108

Saint Ignatius vs St. Edward

Dylan Huss: 174

Noah Virant: 183

Alex Gehrlein: 169

Vinny Doran: 182, 166, 253

Anthony Doran: 164, 182, 193

Alex Madeja: 133

Ryan Wallenhorst: 122

Andrew Fornadel: 97