The women’s bowling team beat the Arbor View Aggies yesterday with a score of 9-0 (726-721,822-730, 808, 677) in the state tournament final. This is the women’s first state title in the program’s history.

“It feels amazing,” lead-off bowler Carmen Guba said. “We all fought so hard and had our ups and downs, but everyone’s been so supportive, and nothing would be possible without them.”

The team started slow in the first game; the women converted most of their spares, but they couldn’t seem to string any strikes together in the first half of the game. In the second half, Guba strung four strikes together to end the game with a 229. With a gutterball in the tenth frame by Arbor View freshman Sage Tudman and a shaky finish by senior Maria Staubs, the women were able to pick up the first game win.

“It was a little hard,” senior bowler Kaeylie Timbal said. “I thought we were gonna go downhill, honestly, but we picked each other up. We told each other [that] we could do better [and] we know we can do this. So, going into the second game, I had a lot more confidence after that talk.”

The second and third games were a different story. The women were firing from all cylinders for the majority of the games. Guba was the main highlight for these games as well, shooting 236 and 246 while the rest of the team didn’t shoot below 160 in the second and third games. This led to the women beating Arbor View by 92 and 131 pins respectively.

“I’m so proud of every teammate of mine,” sophomore bowler Caitlin Farr said. “We’ve come such a far and long way, I can’t be anything but proud.”

This is the first time the women’s program has won the state title, though they had a bid for the title for the past three years. In 2017 and 2018, the women went to the state championship match but lost to Liberty High School in 2017 and Basic High School in 2018. Last year, the women made it to the regional semifinals, but lost to Clark 7-2.

“Oh my god, it’s absolutely amazing,” Timbal said. “Just the fact that I tried so hard my freshman and sophomore year, and we lost so quickly, but we came [out] this year, [and] were determined. We had so much energy; we came out banging. It feels amazing.”

With the three games that she posted, Guba broke the school record for high women’s series for a match. She had broken the record previously during the regular season with a 675 series versus Bishop Gorman on January 8. With her 229,238, and 246, Guba broke her own record with a 711.

“It feels cool to have the records,” Guba said. “But I’m striving to beat my brother’s 812. His talent pushed me to hit high, and now I want to do better.”

According to coach Kyle Martin, the team has the opportunity to go to Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in the High School Bowling National Championship if they so desire. The consensus gathered so far indicates that the women will be heading to Cincinnati.

“I think this team would fare very well in the national tournament,” Martin said. “They’re a great group. There’s no one in this town that’s better than them. They will be a very successful team if they carry [the numbers] they’ve been putting up on the national level.”