Carle Place's Kadakia wins Nassau bowling
There's a good chance that, right about now, Dhara Kadakia is either completing plans for or celebrating an upcoming trip upstate. It's also a safe bet that the million-watt smile, save for the time spent sleeping, has seldom left her face since Saturday.
Let's go back a year when, about this time, the Carle Place bowler was kicking herself, disappointed she had missed qualifying for the Nassau individual tournament by a sixth of a point - that much - on her season average. Her solace was: "I'm only a freshman . . . But it opened my eyes like, 'Next year, I really want to do it.' "
Right now? She's the champion. The sophomore bowled a 1,245 series, including a career and tournament-best 265 in Game 2, to win the county title at Garden City Lanes. With that, Kadakia, along with the other top-six finishers, qualified for the Nassau team that will compete in the state Sectional All-Star Tournament on March 6 in Syracuse. The group will be coached by Division's Joanne Byrne.
"I was hopeful, but I didn't think I'd make it this far with a 166 average," Kadakia admitted. But the sophomore led from the second game on and created distance with a 221 in Game 5.
East Meadow's Erica Tuthill placed second, dropping 1,184 pins; Sewanhaka District teammates Rebecca Gotterbarn (1,153) and Danielle Roca (1,145) took third and fourth; Meghan Wing of Plainedge was fifth (1,135), and Kayla Capuzzo of Bellmore-Merrick made the cut with a 1,120 series.
Tuthill, a first-time competitor in the tournament, described herself as being more "shocked" than excited. "I've never made it this far and I didn't know I would do this well," she said.
Which meant she wasn't giving herself enough credit. Entering her senior year, Tuthill had hopes of going out with a bang and began bowling more frequently and took outside lessons - and it reflected in her 181 average, which was seventh in the county. She rolled a 222 in Game 1 and her 225 in the final game pulled her from fourth to second place.
In a twist, the freshmen will be the veterans on this all-star team. Gotterbarn and Roca, ninth-graders, will make the trip north for a third straight year. Last season the Indians had three representatives.
"We've been doing this since seventh grade and we're roomies," Gotterbarn said of Roca. "And we plan on doing this until we're seniors."
VP Harris concedes election ... Election takeaways ... Trooper shot on SSP under investigation ... Warm weather continues
VP Harris concedes election ... Election takeaways ... Trooper shot on SSP under investigation ... Warm weather continues