Bellmore-Merrick Girls Bowlers Edge Out Wantagh

The Bellmore-Merrick girls bowling team picked up a big win over Wantagh on Monday afternoon, pulling out an 8-3 victory. 

Calhoun seniors Kate Brown and Nicole Celauro carried the team to wins in two out of the three games, defeating Wantagh 1,873-1,729.  

“Wantagh was a good team and we are pretty evenly matched with them,” head coach Keri Cinelli said. “We came back strong in the last game to win it.”  

In the opening game, Celauro and Brown led the way with a 193 and 161, respectively. Celauro’s opening score was a game-high for either team. Mepham senior Laura Rooney posted a 134, followed by Calhoun freshman Kayla Cappuzzo bowling a 115. Bellmore-Merrick was able to edge Wantagh out early by 15 pins 603-588.  

Mepham senior Victoria Sorrentino was substituted in for Cappuzzo and had nothing short of a breakout game in the middle frame, bowling a strong 183. Brown followed right behind with a 165, a four pin improvement from her opening score. Rooney and Celauro posted scores of 145 and 135, but Wantagh narrowly edged out the win  631-628.  

With Bellmore-Merrick up by just 12 pins heading into the third and final game, the bowlers needed to step up to hold on for the win. Cappuzzo came back strong after her first game with a round-high score of 173.

Brown only got better as the match went on, bowling a 172. Celauro shot a score of 152 and Sorrentino followed right behind with a 145 to help Bellmore-Merrick solidify the win with a 642-510 advantage in the closing game.  

“I kept my pace throughout and kept the team motivated,” Brown said. “We just kept our mark the whole game and didn’t think about the end result too much here.”  

Cinelli was pleased with her girls’ performance just a few days removed from a 11-0 loss to Levittown Division last week.  

“Victoria Sorrentino and Kate Brown were actually my most solid bowlers today," she said.  'They both bowled around their averages and kept our team in it.”  

Bellmore-Merrick advances to 2-1 on the season and currently stands in second place in their conference. The girls prepare to take on Island Trees this Thursday at 4:15 p.m. at South Levittown Lanes.