A run on perfect games
How's this for an early holiday gift: perfection. Five high school bowlers rolled 300 games last week.
Joanna Viscuso (Island Trees), Alex Corbesiero (St. Anthony's), Mike Orobello (East Islip), Tom Slawski (Ward Melville) and Gregg Reed (Smithtown) each accomplished the feat.
It used to be a rare feat.
On Monday, Viscuso, a sophomore, became the first Long Island girl to roll a 300 in two years. Lena Sorrentino (East Islip) and Alexandra DeVries (Islip), in 2009-10, were the first Suffolk girls to pull it off in scholastic competition.
Viscuso was perfect in the second game of a 699 series in a win over Division. "I leaped in the air, went to the floor, then got up and screamed," said Viscuso, whose previous high was a 246 last year. "There was pressure because everyone was watching me, but I kept it together."
Her coach, Kieran Keyser, along with Division coach Joanne Byrne and Nassau coordinator Eileen Shultis, said they'd never witnessed a Nassau girl accomplish the feat in league play. "If it's happened before," Shultis said, "It was probably long ago. I can't remember another."
Tuesday, Orobello, an eighth-grader, got his in Game 3 of an 871 series, leading the Redmen to a win over Lindenhurst.
"I was a little nervous," he said, "but after I threw the 11th strike, I was confident I'd get it done."
It was Orobello's first career start. He tried out and didn't make the team last year.
"I cut him," East Islip coach Rick Papandrea said, "but I told him if he joined a league in the summer, worked on his game . . . he'd get on."
Then, perfection. "It's gonna stick with me for a while," Orobello said. "I'm really proud."
The same night, Corbesiero, a senior, got a 300 in the third game of a 706 series, though it came in a loss to Holy Trinity.
Slawski, a sophomore, bowled his first 300 in Game 1 of a 675 series, leading Ward Melville to a win over Riverhead on Wednesday. And, not to be outdone that night, Reed, a senior and 2010 Newsday All-Long Islander, was flawless in Game 3 of an 801 series in Smithtown's win over Northport.
"The equipment continues to improve and these kids are bowling nonstop," Papandrea said of the recent 300 frequency. "It's great for bowling."
