Sewanhaka rolling into county tournament

This weekend, the boys and girls of the Sewanhaka District bowling teams will have just one thing of their minds, bringing home county titles. After each team ran away with conference championships, the boys and girls are set to converge on Garden City Lanes this Saturday to mix it up with Nassau’s best.

Sewanhaka District coach Jay Hegi is confident that his teams will compete well. “The girls have a team that should be able to win the county championship if they just bowl their games, while the boys will have to bowl a little bit above their averages,” Hegi said. “The girls really want it bad, and they have the talent to get it done. The work ethic of both teams is off the charts.”

The girls’ team is lead by a trio of freshmen. Rebecca Gotterbarn, Danielle Roca, and Kristina Genova have all earned All-State honors early in the high school careers. Gotterbarn and Roca both brought home All-State recognition in seventh and eighth grade, while Genova did so as an eighth-grader. 

All three have improved markedly since last season. Gotterbarn finished the regular season with a 209 average, placing her among the two bowlers in the county. Her 673 series, which included a 263 in the third game, led Sewanhaka District to an early-season rout of Oyster Bay. 

Roca finished the season with a 200 average. She got the season off to a good start with a 660 series and high game of 246 to lead a sweep of Mineola. Genova’s top scores came against North Shore, when she rolled a 246 and a 617 series. Junior Amanda Esteves has a 180 average, eighth-grader Morgan Roth (170), junior Geri-Lynn Roth (167), and senior Jane Kim (165).  The girls finished undefeated at 12-0.

The boys’ team is led by Tommy Genova. The junior rolled a 249 and a 718 series in the regular season finale to sew up the Conference II title with an 11-1 record. Junior Jay Wagan (205 average) rolled a 680 series in a sweep of Locust Valley. Michael DiFalco (202) was the difference in a narrow victory over Mineola. The senior rolled a pair of 227 games and a 679 series. 

Joshua Kramer (195), Michael Jarosch, Kevin Gamboa and Chris Carrisimo have all made nice contributions. Kramer rolled a season-high 257 in a sweep of Mineola. Gamboa had a 224 and a 634 series to pace Sewanhaka in a 2-1 win over Carle Place.

Hegi is amazed by the hard work his bowlers put in. “These kids are maniacs,” he said. “They’re truly relentless in their preparation. They never stop trying to get better, and understand what it takes to win a championship. I think the difference in the county match is going to be our depth. We might not post the top overall scores, but our fourth and fifth bowlers should be able to put us over the top.”