Head coach Joey Johanning knew the Rochelle varsity girls bowling team would field a young lineup this season. While the Lady Hubs may not have brought home any victories this winter, Johanning was pleased with the development his girls showed throughout the 2018-19 season.
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ROCHELLE — Head coach Joey Johanning knew the Rochelle varsity girls bowling team would field a young lineup this season. While the Lady Hubs may not have brought home any victories this winter, Johanning was pleased with the development his girls showed throughout the 2018-19 season.
Rochelle finished 0-11 overall, taking eighth place in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference while placing 11th in the IHSA Sycamore Regional. The Lady Hubs bowled in four additional tournaments, taking sixth in the Sterling MLK Invitational and 10th at the Cavalier Classic.
“Graduating our top seniors (Carlie Elder and Katie Dummer) last year was going to put us into more of a youth movement,” Johanning said. “Overall I think we had a really good season. The girls had a lot of fun, and honestly I saw a lot of progression.”
The Lady Hubs rallied around freshman Alyssa Mickley, who finished the season as Rochelle’s lone regional qualifier. Mickley advanced to the IHSA Rockford (Jefferson) Sectional as an at-large individual, and Johanning said the freshman has the potential to develop into the program’s cornerstone moving forward.
“It was fun watching her confidence grow,” Johanning said. “She started feeling much better about the shots she was throwing as the year progressed, and she felt that she could compete with the higher-level competition we faced.”
Rochelle started three underclassmen on the varsity team including Mickley, freshman Alyssa Schwanert and sophomore Kiya Herrera. Both Schwanert and Herrera can be integral pieces of the program over the next 2-to-3 years, while junior Cassie Moore will also be eligible for next season.
“I watched them take some big steps with their accuracy and their confidence,” Johanning said. “They were always asking questions so they could make the best shots possible. Alyssa was feeling better about her shots after making a few physical tweaks to her game. Once Kiya got her own ball, she really took off. She was practicing outside of our team sessions quite a bit.”
Rochelle will graduate two seniors from the program including Autumn Headon and Aubrey Headon. The two sisters shared a friendly rivalry on the lanes, and Johanning said he will miss the competitive spirit they displayed.
“It was fun watching the competition between the two of them,” Johanning said. “Autumn’s demeanor was a great presence for our team. Bowling can be an emotional sport… If Autumn had a bad frame, she left it there. She always went into the next frame with the best mind set.”
