Cooper Garvey

Senior Brendan Rauch bowls in an away match for the OHS team. In his fourth year on the team, Rauch has bowled for the past six years to work towards his goal. “I want to make it to states for bowling,” said Rauch.

As fall sports begin, the Oviedo bowling teams gear up for another successful season. 

Last year, in a wildly successful year for the teams, the girls finished the season 3rd in conference and 7th in the district, while the boys finished 2nd in conference and 5th in the district. This year both teams are trying to improve on those results.

On the boys’ side, the team is full of experienced bowlers coming back for another year. This experience is very valuable.

“We have four seniors on the team, and it’s very helpful to have seniors on the team, they know the routine, they know what to expect, they’re the leaders of the team,” said Coach Joel Freund.

These seniors have been on the team for years, and their experience as teammates is just as valuable as their bowling experience.

“I just like bowling on the team,” said senior Roger Morales.

Their camaraderie stems from the multiple years they have spent together on the team and this helps create a great attitude around the team.

“My favorite part [of being on the bowling team] is the energy and how glad and happy everyone is to be there and how much the team hypes each other up and supports each other,” said senior Brendan Rauch.

This team environment has helped many on the team grow as bowlers and people. Since many of the students joining the bowling team are inexperienced in competitive bowling, a strong team dynamic and practice have helped them reach new heights.

“[We improve] through hard work and practicing twice a week, two games a week [and] most people bowl outside of school too,” said Rauch.

The boys team currently sports a 3-2 record, but they believe improvement is to come.

“Our boys team, they’re very talented but right now they’re underperforming,” said Freund. “But I expect by the end of the season they will be right there with the best teams in the conference.”

The girls team’s situation is slightly different from the boys. While all of the bowlers on the team are experienced returnees, the team faces one problem: their roster isn’t big enough.

“We’re having trouble getting girls for our team,” said Freund. “We only have three girls on the team and you need five to field a team.”

Despite operating at only three-fifths of the strength of their opposition, the girls team has managed a record of 2-3.

With the lack of girls on the team inhibiting their ability to compete, any additions to the team would greatly help.

“For anyone who likes bowling, come on out and we can teach you how to bowl, we can get you through the scared phase because we have great kids to surround you and support you,” said Freund.