On Monday, February 25th, the Lady Tiger Bowlers went up against 23 other teams in the Southwest District Tournament. The top 5 teams would then advance to the State Finals in Columbus on Friday, March 1st. With Versailles being the 3rd highest team in all 4 Sectionals, they were seeded in 3rd to start the tournament. “To finish as high as we did in all of the Sectionals is a big advantage at Districts. We get to cross with the other top 3 teams in our 3 regular games.” said Coach Phlipot.
Paige Holsapple set a new school record by rolling a 278. She also rolled a team high 635 series and was earned 4th spot out of 8th on the Southwest District Girls All District Tournament Team.
The first game, Versailles was paired up with Beavercreek. The Tigers got off to a good start by rolling a 907 their first game. This put them in 5th position after 1 game. As with all tournament competition, teams switch pairs of lanes after each game. “This is where good teams can make a move when lanes are switched. The teams that can make the better adjustments the quickest can make up ground very fast.” stated Coach Davidson. After a couple of frames, the lanes were playing a little different from the 1st pair. The Lady Tigers started to roll. Led by Paige Holsapple’s new school record of 278, they finished with the tournament high game of 1,038. This leaped Versailles into 2nd place behind Beavercreek. Game 3 the girls fought through the tougher lanes and had a hard time carrying out the corner pins. However, they were able to make most of the spares and ended up finishing with a 920. This was good enough for 2nd position after the 3 Regular Games with a score of 2,865. Going into the Baker Games, Versailles was only behind by 68 pins to Beavercreek. “Unlike other sports, there can be a “home field” advantage. This is due to the fact that these tournaments need to be held in a large bowling center and there are times when it is 1 or 2 schools home bowling center. Being only 68 pins behind, we had a legitimate shot at the District Title.” said Coach Davidson.
The stage was set for the Bajer Games. Beavercreek and Versailles were the top 2 teams after 3 games, therefore, they were paired against each other for the 6 Baker Games. With Versailles being up by over 200 pins on the 5th place team, things were looking real good to qualify for State. “We can win this. It’s not about going out and just making the top 5, we have a great chance at the District Championship.” Said Coach Phlipot. The first game belonged to Beavercreek and they ended up taking the lead by 94 pins. The Beavercreek fans were fired up and it looked as if they were going to run away with it. The Lady Tigers had other plans. They came out firing the 2nd Baker game and rolled a new school record 258. The momentum shifted and Versailles was now in the lead. Each game went back and forth with Beavercreek in the lead and then Versailles. It came down to the last game with Versailles down only 56 pins. “The right lane was much tougher to hit the pocket and to carry strikes. We were on the left lane to finish the match, so we could still pull this out.” Said Coach Phlipot. The Tigers kept the heat on Beavercreek and it literally came down to the anchor bowlers. With a 3 bagger going into the tenth it was time for the Tiger anchor Megan Monnin to bowl. “I told Megan this shot is no different than every other shot she threw all day. Take a couple extra deep breaths and throw a good shot and see what happens.” Said Coach Davidson. Megan did her job and rolled two strikes and a 9 pin count. This forced the Beavercreek bowler to at least spare in the tenth. Unfortunately for Versailles, she rolled a strike and Beavercreek ended up winning the District Title over Versailles by 15 pins.
“I am so proud and excited for this team. They have worked extremely hard and have now earned the opportunity to compete for the State Championship.” Said Coach Phlipot. Leading scorers for Versailles was: Paige Holsapple 632, Hannah Niekamp 593 and Megan Monnin 585. The State Championships will consist of 16 teams. All teams will bowl 3 regular games and 6 baker games. The field will then be cut to the top 8. Bracket style match play will then start with the best 3 out of 5 Baker games. Winners will advance each round until the champion is determined.