Slow Starts Don't Stop D3 Champions
March 7, 2015
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
JACKSON – After the first of the two-game championship match Saturday afternoon, Sam Brandt of Fremont had a 28-pin lead in his quest to become the first back-to-back boys singles champion in MHSAA history.
Sophomore Tyler Kolassa of Warren Lincoln had other ideas.
Kolassa struck in seven of the first eight frames of the second game and went on to defeat Brandt 429-403 to win the MHSAA Division 3 boys singles championship at Airport Lanes in Jackson.
It was a little closer than the final score indicates, however. Brandt stormed back into contention with five strikes in a row, and while a tough task, could have won the match with a double and decent count in the 10th frame.
Brandt’s delivery came in high and left a 6 pin, which he missed. Kolassa won the second game 245-191 to earn the 26-pin victory.
Unlike some who choose not to watch their opponent in a situation like that, Kolassa could not take his eyes off Brandt at the match-deciding moment.
“I watched him; I was right there with him,” Kolassa said.
Kolassa was seeded sixth after averaging 200.8 in the six-game qualifying session. He started with 134 but never went below 198 in the remaining five games of qualifying.
“After that 134 I came back with 246 and just carried on my day,” Kolassa said.
He shared the same pair with Brandt during qualifying and saw first-hand what the smooth right-hander and defending champion was capable of on the lanes.
Brandt qualified fourth and only a 146 final game kept him from being the top seed. He averaged 205.1 in qualifying and was just 16 pins behind qualifying leader Adam Wojtylko of Flat Rock. Brandt had his toughest match en route to the Final in the round of 16, where he won by two pins over Matt Hammer of Armada, while Kolassa edged Brennen Proudfidt of Grand Rapids South Christian by seven in the Semifinals.
In the first game of the championship match, Brandt filled all 10 frames and had two doubles to finish at 212. Kolassa, who had 184, picked up the rare 3-4-6-7 split in the seventh frame but missed a 10 pin in the ninth.
“That first game, I thought he had to miss, but he didn’t miss,” Kolassa said. “I thought it was game over right there.”
Kolassa started the second game with three strikes in a row, and Brandt had open frames in the second, third and fourth. Although Brandt had a chance to win it in the 10th, he didn’t regain the lead.
“I got a little hope there early and took it all the way,” Kolassa said. “It was neck-and-neck and a lot of fun. I thought I might lose, but I held on.
“Honestly, coming into the day I didn’t think I was going to win. I knew I was going to make the cut to the first 16, but I didn’t plan on winning.”
Kolassa’s style makes him stand out on the approach. He uses a six-step approach with a backswing that takes the ball well above his head.
“When I first started to bowl, I was shoulder high,” Kolassa said. “I used to throw the ball so slow, and I complained about not having enough speed. My coach told me to try the high backswing, and I guess I never stopped going higher.”
There was not as much drama on the girls side of the Division 3 singles. Senior Kadee Bechman of Battle Creek Pennfield used a 219 first game to build an 89-pin advantage on Breanna Johnson of Dundee and roll to a 406-346 victory.
It literally was a dream come true for Bechman.
“Last night I had a dream that I would take first place,” she said.
Bechman was seeded sixth after qualifying and, like Kolassa, she struggled in her first game in the morning qualifying session with a 162.
“I just built off of it from there,” she said. “When I found out that I had qualified, I knew that I had to grow on that and not get frustrated with myself and have confidence in myself.”
Bechman shot at least 199 in each of her three matches prior to the championship and won all of them by more than 40 pins. Johnson, a sophomore who was seeded eighth, had a little tougher road as she won one match by five pins and her Semifinal by 22.
However, Bechman grabbed the early lead and never looked back. She had an early double, two in a row in the middle and a late three-bagger for 219, while Johnson had three splits among five open frames as she struggled to a 130.
The second game was academic, and Johnson got back on track with a 216, ending the game with five strikes in a row, while Bechman shot 187.
“I knew if I got that far that I would be able to finish it,” Bechman said of her 89-pin lead after one game.
Bechman has been a life-long bowler, starting the game at age 3. She is a four-time all-conference selection and hopes to attend Olivet College or take a year off and coach bowling. She also aspires to become a professional in the future.
A right-hander with a four-step approach, she has been bowling this year while wearing a knee brace, but that did nothing to slow her down.
“At the beginning of the year, I fell on the gutter in practice and busted my knee,” she said. “It wasn’t too serious, but I’ve just been wearing a knee brace and getting stronger with it.”
The season – and her high school career – culminated in an MHSAA Finals singles championship.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
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.
“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.”
Lovell 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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June 30: Hrynewich's Star Continuing to Rise with Olympic, Pro Sports Arrivals - Read
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.