Solon High School’s (SHS) girls bowling team had their first match on Wednesday, Dec. 8 against Mentor High School.

The team hosted tryouts in the second week of Nov. The varsity roster includes Evie Prelog, Kennedy Prelog, Danica Wood, Marina Catalano and Zukhra Shopulatova. The JV roster includes Ella Giallanza, Katie Westrich, Lola Farley, Hannah Park and Emi Mulcahy.

The team practices at Roseland Lanes in Twinsburg for two hours every Monday and Wednesday with optional practices on Fridays.

Evie Prelog, a junior at SHS, is in her third year playing for the SHS varsity team.

“My first match was freshman year, and I played on varsity with my older sister who was a senior,” Prelog said. “I felt very nervous since everyone else on the team already had such high scores.”

Prelog claims she practices often and learned from her previous seasons and plans to apply it to this year’s season.

“I prepare by taking time on my own to go to the bowling alley and practice for a couple of hours trying out new pick-ups, so I can get certain spares,” said Prelog. “My freshman year was nowhere near my best, and my sophomore year I was better but still working. Now, during my junior year, I am the best that I have been with an average of 150.”

Emi Mulcahy, a junior at SHS, played her first match of her high school career last Wednesday.

“I was pretty nervous, but I played a lot of sports throughout my life, so I take it pretty lightly and I just think of it as something fun,” said Mulcahy.

Mulcahy claims that mentality is vital to success in a team sport.

“The people you surround yourself with play a big role and they impact you,” said Mulcahy. “When someone else is happy, I get happy and excited too.”

The team only recently started their season and are working hard to get better and win more matches.

“You’re not going to have perfect games and that’s okay,” said Prelog. “I think telling yourself that mistakes are a part of the game and that you can always fix them is important.”