The Lewis University women’s bowling team welcomes six new bowlers to its squad for their second season of competition.
Dench
Freshmen Heather Carlson, Amber-Grace Carroll, Kayla Dench, Clara Ferrari and Jenna Sussenbach have all signed their National Letter of Intent to bowl at Lewis, while Amber Furman is transferring to Lewis and will have three more years of eligibility.
“I am very excited about this class,” Lewis Director of Bowling Scott Taylor said. “We have a talented group of young ladies coming in who work very hard and are ready to help take the program to the next level. They are also strong students and will represent the university in a positive manner.”
Dench, a nursing major, was a four-year starter for Plainfield East.
She qualified for sectionals three times in her career and twice advanced to state individually.
She finished third in the Southwest Prairie Conference as both a junior and senior, averaging a 189 as a senior before advancing to state each year.
Her senior season she took second place at regionals with a 1,219, fourth place at sectionals with a 1,257 at finished 26th at state with a 198.9 average. She earned several all-tournament team accolades along the way.
Sussenbach, a four-year varsity starter at Plainfield North, is a projected business/finance major. She was a three-time team MVP for the Tigers and was the Southwest Prairie Conference Most Valuable Player the past two seasons.
She finished her career placing in 19 tournaments. As a senior she earned All-State honors by finishing 12th in the state with a 205.2 average at the state meet.
As a freshman Sussenbach averaged a 177. She climbed to a 186 as a sophomore, a 199 as a junior and concluded with a 205 as a senior, a year which she broke five school records.
She also earned Will Country Bowler of the Week honors.
Carlson, a nursing major, was a three-year varsity starter at Sycamore High School where she helped the Spartans to two state appearances, three conference championships and three regional championships.
Sussenbach
They finished ninth as a team this past winter.
Carlson began high school with a 158 average, but quickly increased her average to a 183 as a sophomore and a 206 as a junior before finishing with a 202 as a senior.
She earned the most improved player award her first three years.
As a junior she finished 53rd in the state and had a high series of 710 and as a senior she took 24th in the state and had a 701 high series with a 275 high game. She was a three-time all-conference bowler.
The Lancers won a regional title in Carroll’s junior year and finished second in sectionals, finishing 12th in the state, and as a senior Carroll helped East to a sixth-place finish in state as well as first-place finishes in the Southern Illinois Team Challenge and the Alton Holiday Invite.
Carroll bumped her average from the 160s as a freshman and sophomore to a 190 as a junior and 202 as a senior with a 299 high game and a 674 high series, earning all-conference honors her final two seasons.
She had the top high game in the Southwestern Conference and the fourth highest average. She was second place SIBPA individual and first place Tri-County Illinois USBC.
Ferrari, a business and political science major, was a four-year varsity member at LaSalle-Peru High School. She helped the team earn two trips to sectionals and a first-place finish this year at the Cavalier Classic.
As a freshman Ferrari averaged a 135, climbed to a 163 as a sophomore, 185 as a junior and she finished her high school career at a 195.
She has a career-high 698 series and 255 game, and finished in second place at regionals as a senior with a 1,254 six-game series.
She was named to the News Tribune All-Area Second Team as a junior and First Team as a senior, in which she was also the Bowler of the Year and also earned Athlete of the Week during the season.
She was also the LaSalle Peru High School Athlete of the Week during the school year.
Furman is a transfer from Clarke University where she spent her freshman season.
She averaged a 172 and made the All-Tournament Team at the Five Seasons Classic, finishing in fourth place. Before that she bowled in high school at Andrew where she was the individual regional champion as a junior with a 1,327.
As a senior she was the team MVP, placed at every tournament and finished 40th in the state.
She averaged a 161 as a freshman, 163 as a sophomore, 172 as a junior and jumped to a 197 as a senior. Furman helped Andrew to a first-place finish at the Oak Forest Invite and a regional title in her senior season.
The team also finished fourth at sectionals to qualify for state. Furman also shot a 300 on the Junior Bowlers Scholarship Tour in February en route to a 1,248, earning the top seed in qualifying by 140 pins.
She is majoring in elementary education.
The Flyers open their season Oct. 11 at the Penguin Invitational, hosted by Youngstown State.