Looking for their first Pennsylvania State Bowling Championship, Penn Manor's lady Comets hit the lanes Saturday, March 12 at Dutch Lanes in Ephrata. The "almost home" lanes advantage, however, was not enough to push the Comets to the top. They finished in third place, out of 12 teams.

"I thought the girls seemed a little more nervous than usual," said head coach Chris Vital.

Despite those nerves, the Comets came out strong. Corinne Smith, with six strikes in a row, rolled a 227 in the first game, the second highest score in the three regular qualifying games, sparking the Comets to a 912. Eva Brubaker's 190 followed.

"We were in first place after that first game, but our second game was a trainwreck," Vital said. "We went from 912 to 710. We gave back everything we gained in that first game but surprisingly enough, we were still in first place."

Brubaker led that second game with a 160 and rounded out a team-high 532 series with a 182. But it was freshman Kayla Wasche, with a 191, that led Manor to an 852 third game.

"Kayla did a great job to get us going in that last game," said Vital. "She was nine pins away from being an all-star. And we were lucky to have Lacey Slaymaker back. She was out most of the week with a sore shoulder but rallied back to compete."

The Comets held a 2474-2473 over Shikellamy heading into the baker sets. But it was Shikellamy that earned a bye in the quarters and semis, throwing six strikes in their last seven attempts to nip the Comets by 33 pins.

"In Regionals they beat us by 300 pins," Vital recalled. "This time it was 33. So, we finished as the second seed and got a bye in the quarterfinals."

In the semis, the Comets suffered a tough loss to No. 4 Neshaminy, 155-133, 194-175.

"They got hot at the right time," said Vital of Neshaminy. "They were excited with their win over Norwin and kept the momentum going. We were up 30 pins in the fifth frame of the second set and then they held a three-pin lead going into the tenth. The lanes were really tough. We beat Neshaminy in the semifinals at Regionals but this time around, it was not our day.

"Last year we finished 17th out of 19," he added. "And this year we have just one senior, Willow Hee. I'm expecting big things next year."

For her 532 series, Brubaker received state all-star recognition.

WRESTLING ALL-STARS

Penn Manor's Travis Clawson and Ty Grassel were recently recognized as Section One wrestling all-stars. Clawson (113) was a First team selection while Grassel was an honorable mention at 160.

TENNIS

While the bulk of the spring sports teams were waiting to get going, the tennis team, as of March 21, had three games under their belt. After suffering shutout losses to Pequea Valley and Lampeter-Strasburg, the Comets notched a shutout win over Garden Spot.

"Everyone played phenomenally," said head coach Amanda Pryzbylkowski. "But we need to highlight Grant Rost at No. 3. He was down 5-0 in the first set and came back to win 7-5. He then won 12 consecutive games to ultimately win the second set 6-1. That win allowed the Comets to have their first clean sweep of the season."

PJ Fahey and Will Steltz won in straight sets at No. 1 and 2 respectively as did Colin Kligee at No. 4.

In doubles place, Fahey and Steltz (No.1) and Kligee and Ryan Duman (No. 3) won 8-0 while Rost and Aydan Aliotta earned an 8-4 win at No. 2.

Last year the Comets went undefeated in the regular season. They finished third in districts and lost their PIAA opener to Lower Merion, the eventual champs. The bulk of that team graduated or transferred. Fahey is the only returning starter from last season.

"We're young but the team has consistently put in the hard work in the off-season," said Pryzbylkowski. They've been taking lessons, attending clinics, and playing tournaments since our season ended last spring. I think we are hungry to get back to states again this year."