IAC BOWLING: SVEC LOOKING TO BE COMPETITIVE AGAIN (2021-11-26)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
CANDOR / SPENCER — Second-year coach Michael Siegel has high hopes for the SVEC bowlers this season.
Both the boys and the girls teams placed second at the IAC championships in February. Siegel expects both to challenge for the IAC Small School title.
Due to COVID-19, the IAC did not have small and large school divisions during the shortened 2020-21 season. Instead, the league was split geographically and the majority of maatches were contested virtually.
Here's a look at the 2021-22 Eagles teams.
BOYS
While Siegel expects to be competitive again in the IAC Small School, he is also looking for all the SVEC returners to raise their averages by 10 pins.
The Eagles' top three returners are freshman Kody Floyd, senior Garrett Lindhorst and junior Matt Fitch.
Floyd and Lindhorst logged top 10 showings at the league tournament, placing fifth and ninth respectively.
Also returning are sophomore Aiden Jackson and freshman Tyler Dunham, both of whom will be "stepping into the starting lineup on a normal basis," Siegel said.
The Eagles' newcomers include juniors Calvin Curkendall, Skyler Kwiatkowski and Wyatt Stouffer, and sophomore Jason Tufarella.
"(I'm) looking for them to make an impact in their first year," Siegel said.
SVEC will need to fill three holes left by the departure of Joey Marsh, who graduated, and Will Zimmer and Lucas Heidl, both of whom have gone back to the basketball court.
"(I'm) very excited to see the boys continue to have great team chemistry and feed off of one another's energy.
GIRLS
Like the boys, Siegel feels the girls can compete to be the IAC Small School's top team.
He is also looking for the returners to raise their averages by 5-10 pins.
SVEC lost a key contributor with the graduation of Mya Marsh. She placed third in the IAC tournament in February.
Leading the charge this season will be returners Kaitlyn Floyd, a freshman, senior, Olivia Bennett and junior Janelle Marsh.
Bennett placed in the top 10 in the past two league championships, including sixth last season. Marsh and Floyd took seventh and 10th, respectively, in last season's tourney.
Other returners for the Eagles include 8th-grader Calli Marsh, seniors Elly Hatton and Phebe Jackson, and sophomore Julia Dunham.
"All will play an integral role in their second / third years of bowling," Siegel said.
SVEC's newcomers are juniors Miranda Langendoerfer and Morgan Bensley, and freshman Kaydee Jackson ()— looking for them to make an impact in their first year.
"(I'm) very excited to see some big games from the likes of Floyd, Bennett and Janelle Marsh, all who are capable of throwing 200 games and 600 series at some point this season," Siegel said.
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NOTES: Lindhorst and Bennett led SVEC to 4-0 sweeps of Edison in the season opener with the high series, while Aiden Jackson and Janelle Marsh posted the teams' high games.
SVEC faces Tioga Tuesday at the Valley Bowling Center in Waverly. The Tigers are the defending IAC boys champions.
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IN PHOTO: SVEC's Olivia Bennett & Garrett Lindhorst. ... PHOTO BY CATHLEEN DOANE.
