Senior year is full of lasts. In the world of sports, this gives you one last time to make your mark on your team and one last time to play the game you love.

For Adrianne Neal, this time has come. Her senior bowling season will soon begin and end.

She will take one last sigh as she marches straight to the lane to line up directly in front of the pins. She focuses hard on the task ahead and then it’s just her and the pins…literally.

Being the only senior girl, Neal evaluates the teams to see how they can improve. “The boys’ team looks pretty good this year but the girls’ team is in a bind because we don’t have enough players,” she said. “We hope to get more girls to come out and join us.”

In the past, the GRC girls’ bowling team has been “scraping by with just enough” as boys bowling team captain Elisha Witt would put it.

The girls’ team currently has three members. To meet the qualifications of a team, they would need six.

To avoid the girls team members not being able to play, the league is changing the way they bowl. In the past, they would directly face off against an opposing team but this year they will be playing tournament style.

Witt says the team changing to this style is extremely beneficial. “Tournaments are primarily individual so it won’t hurt the girls at all,” he says.

However, the regional bowling competition is not set up in this tournament format. Participating in this event is usually the highlight of the season.

Each match before this is set up to increase the chance of success in this match. GRC will even have the “home court” advantage as they have been chosen to host the regional competition this year.

Unfortunately, without a team, the girls may not be able to have this experience. “We will still bowl, but it will almost be like a practice games,” says Neal.

Most athletes would be devastated that their last chance of going to state as a team is being taken away, but Adrianne is focused on making her season unforgettable by enjoying the quality time spent with her team.

“We are just like brothers and sisters, we have tons of bowling together is an amazing experience,” she says, proving that winning means so little compared to the strong bond of a team full of like-minded individuals.

If you are interested in joining the bowling family, don’t hesitate to find Elisha Witt or Adrianne Neal to talk about how to join the team.