Plainedge's Meghan Wing rolls to Nassau girls bowling title
Plainedge's Meghan Wing practices prior to the Nassau boys and girls bowling championship. (Feb. 12, 2013) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
The idiom goes: Practice makes perfect. But Meghan Wing's performance might give credence to a new one: Chillin' makes champions.
At least on this occasion.
Wing won the Nassau girls bowling title Tuesday, rolling a 1,317 in six games to dominate the tournament at Garden City Lanes. And the four days leading up to the competition were spent "on the couch," the Plainedge senior said, "watching TV."
Lest we suggest leisure is the key to success, Wing explained that after last Thursday's team tournament, she rested. The time off allowed her fingers, swollen from a grueling schedule, to finally heal.
"My fingers fit in the ball better so I was able to control it and hit the pocket," she said.
Not that the swollen fingers limited her that much before, considering her 219.5 average was second best in the county.
The top six finishers earned a spot on the Nassau all-star team that will compete in the sectional championships on March 3 in Syracuse.
Roslyn senior Paige Sztabnik finished in second place with a 1,219 -- in her first year of scholastic bowling. "I like road trips," Sztabnik said of going upstate, "and the destination will be exciting."
MacArthur's Kerrie DeLisi, Nicole Brown (Bellmore-Merrick) and Elizabeth Ferraro (Bethpage) also made the cut.
Tied at 1,124 after six games, Maria Lucente of Valley Stream North defeated Jericho's Valerie Chin, 224-187, in a roll-off to earn the final spot on the all-star squad.
Hicksville's Culp takes title
There are times when team camaraderie takes a backseat to bragging rights. Like down the stretch of an individual tournament, first place up for grabs, with a friend nipping at your heels.
"I have a lot of respect for him, but I told him, 'You still can't beat me,' " Robbie Culp said.
Nobody could Tuesday, as the Hicksville junior bowled a 1,485 series -- including a 276 in Game 6 -- to win the Nassau title. The person he ribbed afterward was Comets teammate Sean Kingsepp, whose 1,399 was good for second.
"I really wanted to edge him, but he pulled away," Kingsepp said with a chuckle. "He's a great bowler."
Neither bowler made the cut last season, and Kingsepp finished seventh. "It's a friendly rivalry and it's all in fun," Culp said. "It's going to be great for us to team up again upstate."
Syosset's Ryan Graham finished in third place (1,374). They'll be joined on the all-star team by Mike Ryan (Oceanside), Messiah West (Sewanhaka District) and East Meadow's Jeff Juarez.
