Mules and Rams Kick Off Bowling Season Going Head-to-Head

High school bowling kicked off its 2010 season with a match-up of our two hometown teams, the Malverne Mules and the West Hempstead Rams.

The varsity boys and girls teams from both schools went to battle side-by-side on Nov. 30 at Rockville Centre Lanes, with the Rams coming out victorious in both three-game series.

The boys squads finished first, with West Hempstead taking all three games of the night, 1883-1581.

Rams boys head coach Mike Silberman said "it was a great start." He lost many of his players to graduation, so he had to start fresh this year with a new varsity team. Since other high schools were bowling nearby, Silberman also could not help scouting out the competition, noting that "Valley Stream Central was looking very strong." 

The Mules varsity boys, under the guidance of Jeff Reiffe, in his 26th year as a Malverne coach, threw their best in Game 1. They scored a 563, 503, and 515, to end the night with 1581, but could not overcome the Rams, which delivered an impressive 40 strikes for the series. 

The Lady Rams, led by Coach Linda Dailey, also swept Malverne, finishing with a final score of 1304. 

"This was a great beginning to the season and everyone had terrific scores," Daily said of her team. Her varsity girls finished fourth last year, one place shy of receiving a medal. She also observed that Valley Stream Cental and the other Valley Stream squads appeared to be the toughest teams to beat this season. Both the boys and girls Rams will face Valley Stream South next on Dec. 2.

The Malverne girls team, who have a new coach this year, Chris Brescia, continued to put up a fight on the lanes in all three games, scoring a  total of 1057.

"There was tenacity on the lanes tonight," Brescia said.

Malverne will take on Roosevelt on Dec. 2.