Marissa Mele leads Seaford to dominating bowling victory
Marissa Mele of Seaford reacts after her final roll in the third game of a Nassau girls bowling match against Island Trees at Levittown Lanes on Wednesday. Credit: James Escher
Marissa Mele once again showcased the kind of talent she possesses when she finds her rhythm.
"I got into a groove today," said Mele, the Seaford senior who sparked the Vikings to an 11-0 victory over Island Trees in a Nassau VII girls bowling match at South Levittown Lanes on Wednesday afternoon with a total wood of 619. "So that was nice. It’s always fun to hit the motion and just go with it a little bit. It always works out well when I get into that groove."
The top returning girls bowler in Nassau with an average of 193.75 last season, Mele put together games of 225, 194 and 200.
"Everything is just so clean and smooth with her," Seaford coach Mike Burns said. "She’s a coach on the lane. You’ll see her always talking to one of her teammates and showing them how to do something. You can’t say enough about that."
Nicole Karaman rolled a total of 562, with her highest score of 217 coming in Game 2. The Vikings outscored the Bulldogs, 2,039-1,284.
"Making spares was big," Karaman said. "I felt like some of my strikes weren’t hitting today, but the spares kept my game up."
What excited Mele more than anything was how her team continued to band together for a big day.
"We did really well and pulled together as a team, as we always do," Mele said. "I think when one of us is even slightly down, another one always picks us up. It’s a really good balance that we have and it was demonstrated here today."
Seaford, now 4-0, hopes to ride that balance to a fourth consecutive Nassau Division II title.
"I like our chances of making it happen," Burns said. "We have some exceptional bowlers who all work hard and pick each other up."
