Portage Central Champ Rolls to Vanderbilt, Writing Next Chapter in Alabama

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

July 14, 2022

After graduating from Portage Central High School in 2012, bowling phenom Tori Ferris – now Tori Lovell – decided she wanted to explore areas outside the Midwest.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., was such a perfect fit that she remained in the South after graduating with a degree in human and organizational development in 2016, with her current home in Huntsville, Ala.

Although she is no longer living in Michigan, her influence on young bowlers is still strong.

“She’s one of my examples that I use today: That it doesn’t matter if it’s Division I or Division III, you can still go to (college) for bowling,” said Scott Brunner, whose pro shop is located in Continental Lanes in Portage. 

“Tori was a big sister to my youngest daughter, Morgan, out on the lanes. Watching her go to a Division I school gives Morgan even more of a drive to go.”

While bowling was her life through high school and college, Lovell took a four-year break once she graduated before trying her hand at league bowling.

“(League bowling) was a great experience and I met a lot of people in the area, but, for me it’s hard to bowl just for fun,” she said. “Having a full-time job, for me, bowling is not sustainable.”

She did return to Michigan two years ago, visiting Brunner for some new equipment and a few tips.

“(In the past Brunner) gave Dad and me advice, small lessons when I was trying out new equipment,” she said.

Portage Central bowling“I saw him when I came back to town in 2020 and he watched me bowl and gave me tips. It’s nice to have people who know you help you.”

After meeting Jon Lovell when she was a senior at Vanderbilt, the couple married in 2019 and moved to Huntsville, where they have two chihuahua mixes, Gus and Ellie.

“I’m a crazy dog mom,” she laughed.

Lovell works in human resources at Invariant Corporation, a federal contracting company in Huntsville, and her husband is in the Air National Guard. 

Lovell is still the same outgoing person she was when she was collecting bowling trophies at Portage Central, including the MHSAA Division 1 Finals singles championship as a junior.

She continued making her mark on the bowling lanes at Vanderbilt, which she chose for several reasons.

“Growing up I loved country music, so the idea of living in Nashville was so exciting,” Lovell said.

“Once I got to visit Vanderbilt and saw how beautiful the campus was and started learning about the program from the coaches, it felt like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

The bonus was going there on a bowling scholarship.

“To be at one of the most prestigious universities in the country and then to be there for bowling, I had a bit of imposter syndrome, like am I good enough for this?” Lovell said.

She was more than good enough.

As a freshman, she and her Commodores teammates made it to the NCAA Division I Finals, eventually losing to Nebraska in the championship match.

“We had an amazing national showing,” Lovell said. “With bowling, it’s like one frame can change the momentum. It was an amazing experience.

“I was one of two freshmen who were playing out of the five. It was a really humbling experience.”

Vanderbilt also placed among the top eight at the NCAA Finals her next three years, with Lovell making her television debut at the Nationals.

“Nothing can compare to it,” Lovell said of bowling on TV. “Our assistant, Josie Earnest Barnes, was a freshman on the team when they won a national title (in 2007).

“She was trying to prepare us as much as she could, giving us tips: ‘All you can do is breathe and throw the ball, give it a chance.’ It was intimidating.”

Looking back at her high school and college bowling careers, Lovell said: “I’m grateful for the opportunities that bowling has given me, even though I’m not bowling right now.”

Portage Central bowlingLovell credits her Portage Central coaching staff with helping her achieve success.

“Karen Fawley (who died in 2017), assistant Doug Ferris (her dad) and boys coach Bill Huey were really advocates for us,” she said. “They made sure we had every opportunity we needed to be successful, even from a young age.

“We had a really good group of girls while I was there. Not everyone was planning to go to college for bowling, but they wanted to compete and be the best they could for high school bowling. Some really wanted to have a good time and bowl, so it was a really good mix, which made us successful for several years.”

A similar event occurred during both high school and college: an injury which did not interfere with her successes.

“I hurt my back the year I won the (MHSAA) state tournament, and Karen (Fawley) actually had a back brace in the car,” Lovell laughed.

Her freshman year at Vanderbilt, Lovell had a finger injury while competing in the NCAA Tournament.

“I had torn a tendon in my ring finger, and it was wrapped up in a lidocaine patch,” she said. “My coach would help me change it every hour. 

“I kept competing, and I was having one of the best tournaments.”

Lovell had some extra support at Vanderbilt.

“I don’t know if people I grew up with know, but when I went to Vanderbilt, both my parents moved to Nashville,” Lovell said. “My parents (Andrea Struijk and Doug Ferris) divorced when I was real young, then remarried and had kids and they all moved to Nashville.

“That also made the decision a lot easier because I knew I wasn’t going to be totally alone. I was living on campus, but my parents were 20 minutes away instead of 10 hours away.”

Now that her competitive years are over, at least for a while, Lovell offers the following advice to high school bowlers:

“I would say, listen to your coaches,” she said. “Enjoy the time you have, because it does not last long. Even though you think the next four years are going to take forever, it flies by.

“High school bowling is competitive, but not as hard core as collegiate bowling. You can still enjoy it and have that camaraderie. It’s your last chance to be a kid and compete.”

2021-22 Made in Michigan

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PHOTOS (Top) Tori (Ferris) Lovell, as a high school senior (left) and currently with her dogs Gus and Ellie. (Middle) Lovell was an immediate standout bowling for Vanderbilt. (Below) Lovell and husband Jon were married in 2019. (Photos courtesy of Tori Lovell; college bowling photo also courtesy of the Vanderbilt athletic department.) VIDEO Vanderbilt and Nebraska face off for the 2013 NCAA Division I title.

D1's Best Celebrate 1st Finals Titles

By Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com

March 1, 2019

ALLEN PARK – Blake Ryntz had no clue that the tears he was shedding late Friday morning in his father’s arms would – five hours later – morph from ones of sadness to those of triumph.

But that’s what the sport of bowling can do to a person.

Ryntz, a senior on the Farmington-Harrison Unified bowling squad, thought his team had missed qualifying for Finals match play. But he and his teammates actually barely had made the cut and then proceeded to crush the competition, defeating Oxford in the championship match to claim the program’s first-ever MHSAA boys bowling championship.

“To me, it’s motivating. Barely making it in, you’ve got to show them who’s number one,” said Ryntz, who fired a 269 in his team’s final game against the Wildcats. “I went in thinking it was a fresh start. Everything that happened this morning, just forget about it. Inside me, I knew I could drop three really good games to help us get to the Finals.”

That he did, as sixth-seeded Farmington-Harrison cruised past Macomb L’Anse Creuse North in the quarterfinals and then Salem in the semifinals to set up the showdown with their rivals from the Oakland Activities Association. The team shot 1,463 and 1,435 in its first two wins before putting up 1,453 in defeating Oxford.

“It’s surreal,” said Farmington-Harrison head coach Dennis Hermani, whose team shot Baker games of 225 and 221 and a team score of 1,007 in the final. “These kids have bought into our mantra of “This isn’t bowling, it’s family.’ We had alumni from 10-12 years ago drive here today, took the afternoon off from work. JV kids, parents from years ago. They really bought in and support our program.”

Farmington-Harrison entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the state, having posted the highest Regional score a week ago. The team struggled a bit in its Baker games and bowled sub-par in its two team games. But it snuck past Roseville, Oxford and Macomb Dakota – which narrowly missed qualifying by just five pins.

“I’m so proud of them. We barely made the cut today, by nine pins,” Hermani said. We did not bowl very well this morning, and they were feeling the pressure. All they kept saying (was) that they wanted to get in this (Stadium) room. Once they got in this room, they performed outstanding.”

Along with Ryntz, Evan Yards (202), Jonah Musial (184), Sean Ronald (183) and Christian Dorsey (169) also scored for the team in the final. Devon Osborn and Ryan Wrublewski were also a part of Hermani’s championship squad.

Justin Sisson (208) and Luke Acton (191) led the way for Oxford, a team with no seniors on its roster. Coach JR Lafnear was happy for Hermani and his team, but just as excited about his team’s future.

“I’ve got all juniors and sophomores here and they’re all coming back, so we couldn’t be happier,” said the coach, whose team made its first appearance in the championship match. “The boys battled hard all day. We won the OAA and set our sights in here on doing the best we could. And we were runner-up to an outstanding team from Harrison. I’m not disappointed at all.”

Oxford defeated top-seeded Westland John Glenn is its first match before knocking off Jackson in the semifinals.

Across the alley, Jenison captured its first MHSAA girls bowling championship, knocking off two-time champion New Baltimore Anchor Bay 1,307-1,200 in the title match. The Wildcats were seeded fourth after qualifying and had to knock off top-seeded Taylor in the semifinals before bouncing the second-seeded Tars in the championship match.

“All season long, I’ve always asked the girls, ‘Just give me your best,’ and today they did that,” Jenison coach Kim Becker said. “They just pulled it out. Everything started falling our way; they pumped each other up. The momentum got going, and it just carried through.”

Jenison led Anchor Bay by 38 pins after two Baker games, but then things began to go against Becker’s team. The Wildcats had six open frames through their four turns in the regular game, and the Tars began clawing their way back into the match.

But then the “Bowling Gods,” as Becker put it, started looking down on her Jenison team. Her anchor bowler, Lauren Slagter, picked up an ugly split in the fifth frame and then used a little luck to strike in the seventh to help right the ship. Up to that point in the game, her team had picked her up. So she hoped that her stretch from the fifth through the eighth frames could do the same for her teammates.

“I was just trying to do my best to make up for what I did in that first half of the game,” Slagter said. “It ended up OK. I’m happy with the turnout.”

Alexis VanWayckhuyse led all bowlers with an individual game of 244, helping her team to a 941 team score. Anna Bartz had a 209, while Sarena Overbeek (182), Racquel Kranenberg (155) and Slagter (151) rounded out the Wildcats’ scoring.

Jenison, the fourth seed in the draw, defeated Rockford in the quarterfinals.

Anchor Bay, which previously had won Division 1 titles in 2007 and 2011, was seeded second in the draw and beat Sterling Heights Stevenson and Westland John Glenn on its way to the final. Kate Kaltz fired a 193 to lead her team against Jenison. Amanda Fsadni (189), Emily Fulgenti (182), Kaitlyn Cavender (168) and Merisa Batkins (140) also scored for their team.

“These girls bowled fantastic,” said Anchor Bay coach Buddy VanWieringen. “This is the best team I’ve had in quite a few years. I’ve had a lot of great coaching help this year. It’s been a fun season.”

Click for full girls results and full boys results.