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Zeeland Brings Back Full Lineup for Another Title Pursuit
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
December 17, 2021
ZEELAND – The Zeeland girls bowling team fell short in its bid for back-to-back Division 1 championships last season.
However, Zeeland isn’t short on talent this winter as it returns everyone from March’s run to the quarterfinals.
"I think having everyone back is great, and also having a full season,” said Zeeland coach Tony DiLaura, whose team lost to eventual runner-up Belleville at the Finals after qualifying fourth to match play.
“Last year we started after the new year, and having the first six weeks leading into the new year has been great. Having everyone back, and even a couple of reserves who can still roll high 100s and low 200s, is super exciting for us.”
The team, which is comprised of students from both Zeeland West and Zeeland East, won a Regional title as well last season.
Zeeland’s top seven performers are back: seniors Morgan Smith, Ellie Drenten and Megan Gemmill, juniors Alyssa Fortney and Shanna McDonnel and sophomores Rylee Smith and Brianna Fortney.
Brianna Fortney missed last season's Finals after having emergency appendix surgery.
“I was very upset to say the least that I could not bowl,” Fortney said. “I was kind of bummed and disappointed that I could not be there to help my team, but I’m happy to be back and this is a fun team to be with."
Zeeland won the program’s first Finals crown in 2020, and watched as neighborhood rival Hudsonville collected its first title with a win over Belville in the championship match.
“We were obviously very happy with coming in fifth in the state, and there were some great teams out there,” DiLaura said. “We bowl out of the same house as Hudsonville, and they are good friends of ours. We’ve had several friendly competitions against them, and bowling is like that. Sometimes the pins fall your way, and sometimes you don’t get the carry.”
All of Zeeland’s returnees have experience bowling on the big stage, and it’s created heightened expectations for this season.
“It’s very beneficial because they’ve been there before, and they know the pressure of that arena,” DiLaura said. “Having been there twice already, they’ve been put in those situations and have risen to the challenge.
“Hopefully we will be back this year, but we have to earn our way there. I think the goal for us is to just bowl our game and not put any pressure on ourselves. We will let the season unfold in front of us and see what happens, but having been there in the past does bode well for us.”
There are two sets of sisters among the top seven, and the entire team has become a tight-knit group.
“It’s so nice to have everyone back because we have that bond together and we know we can work off of each other,” said Morgan Smith, who qualified for singles at the Finals and reached bracket play before being knocked out in the quarterfinals. “We have seven strong girls and a couple freshmen who are pretty strong and learning.
“We know if someone is struggling or having a bad day, we always have backups that can put up good scores. It’s a lot more comforting and takes away some of the pressure.”
Zeeland’s depth has played a major factor in its recent success.
“We go pretty deep down to our seventh bowler,” DiLaura said. “We know we can put in any bowler and feel confident that they can finish the game off or step in for the next game and perform at a high level.”
Rylee Smith joined her sister as a Finals singles qualifier last season. Both girls grew up around the game before taking it seriously once Morgan Smith started high school.
“It’s fun bowling with my sister,” Morgan Smith said. “Most people think we have a lot of competition between us, and we do sometimes, but it's definitely fun because we know each other’s games so we are the first person to go to each other when we have questions. It’s nice to have someone right there who knows your game almost as well as you do.”
The Fortney sisters also have a friendly rivalry between them.
“We used to be very competitive with each other, but we realize that it doesn’t matter who is the better sister,” Brianna Fortney said. “We have to show up for our team and be there for them.”
Morgan Smith’s showing at last year’s Finals was the culmination of the work she put in to improve.
“I went in with low expectations last year because there were so many good bowlers that made it, so making it as far as I did was really exciting for me,” Smith said. “It showed me what I can do after putting in the hard work. That the results will come. I’m excited to try and do that again this year, and last year was definitely a cool experience.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) The Zeeland girls bowling team returns its top seven contributors after making the Division 1 quarterfinals in March. (Middle) Morgan Smith fires a shot last winter. (Photos courtesy of the Zeeland girls bowling program.)
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Ploof Legacy Grows, Robison's Begins
March 5, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
CANTON — Flint Kearsley's first family of bowling has its second MHSAA individual champion.
Senior Hannah Ploof closed out a championship-laden high school career by winning the Division 2 individual title Saturday at Super Bowl, beating Wayland sophomore Sydney Urben, 385-336.
One day earlier, Ploof was part of her third team championship. As dominant as Kearsley's girls have been in recent years, they've never had a team championship and individual winner in the same year.
Until now.
"This weekend is perfect," Ploof said.
Ploof is coached by her parents, Robert and Pam, who have guided the Hornets to four team titles in the last five years. One year before that streak began, Lindsay Ploof was the individual champion in 2011.
"Lindsay's a big influence on her," said Robert Ploof, the team's head coach. "She's here rooting her on today. It's been awesome. Hannah is just a good kid. She's been a team captain every year. She's president of the National Honor Society. I can't believe she's mine. I give all the credit to her mom; mom definitely did it."
Hannah advanced through the qualifying round at the MHSAA Finals all four years, but didn't reach the championship match until Saturday. She lost 393-342 to Madchen Breen of Warren Regina in the round of 16 last year after coming in as the No. 5 seed. She made the Semifinals in 2014, only to lose 378-322 to Samantha Knight of Richland Gull Lake. As a freshman, she lost 411-371 to Mikki Mathews of Jackson Northwest in the round of 16.
"It was definitely not an easy thing to do," Ploof said. "I've been working for four years for this, so it paid off. We try to bowl a lot of tournaments. As you saw, our team is pretty successful. Being in these types of situations, I'm used to it now."
Ploof dominated during her six qualifying games, averaging 218 to take the top seed by 146 pins over Breen. Urben was the third seed, 153 pins behind Ploof, reaching the Final with a 389-302 victory over Breen.
The degree of difficulty increased for Ploof after qualifying, however. She trailed Makayla Lancioni of South Lyon East, 198-159, after one game in the Round of 16. Ploof responded with a 224 in the second game to win, 383-353.
After a 420-323 victory over Jamie Bleiler of Jackson in the Quarterfinals, Ploof escaped with a 401-384 victory over Kayla Wild of Tecumseh in the Semifinals.
"In the Semifinals, she had a strike to win and she put it there," Ploof said. "There's nothing you can do about that. It's up to whatever. She left a 10 pin. It should not have stood. She should have won that one. I think everybody has those."
Ploof went up against a bowler with MHSAA championship experience, but in another sport. Urben was a .418 hitter as a freshman on Wayland's Division 2 championship softball team last spring. In bowling, she was 22nd in qualifying at the MHSAA Tournament last year, 35 pins out of the 16th and final qualifying berth.
"I'm just really surprised I made it this far, because there are so many good bowlers here," Urben said. "It's a really good experience to have going into the future. I learned adjustments. I learned how to stay consistent. I'll just practice harder next year and hopefully get back to the same spot where I was, and hopefully win it."
In the boys tournament, Sturgis junior Austin Robison won the championship with a 427-399 victory over Melvindale sophomore Marcus McClain in the Final.
Both bowlers made it to the Final despite no experience in the MHSAA individual tournament. Robison didn't advance through Regionals last year, while Melvindale didn't even have a team last season.
"I cut myself short in Regionals, which actually fueled my fire and made me want to come back and bowl my own game," Robison said. "I was in the cut most of the day, then I just threw myself out of it, throwing bad games. Every year I improve. After last year, it hurt me. I had to better myself and come back stronger than ever."
Robison was fourth after six qualifying games with a score of 1,292, a 215 average. Plainwell senior Trevor Millard led a field of 60 bowlers through qualifying with a score of 1,386, a 231 average.
Robison eliminated Millard in the Semifinals, 412-373. Robison's closest matches were his first two, as he beat Byron Center junior David Northouse, 383-364, before winning 394-373 over New Boston Huron senior Cody Farr in the Quarterfinals.
"Usually pressure like that doesn't get to me," Robison said. "It somewhat did, because it's the state championships. I bowl better under pressure than just regular bowling."
Sturgis coach Terry Smith concurs with Robison's self-assessment.
"The only thing the pressure does is makes him focus on what he's doing," Smith said. "Instead of just going out there and winging it, he knows every shot is going to count. He's a lot more coachable in a situation with pressure than he is when we're just shooting team games, because he thinks he can get away with his carry. When it comes down to every shot's going to matter, it helps him focus."
McClain came out of qualifying in sixth place with a score of 1,255, a 209 average. He knocked off defending champion Chad Stephen of Kearsley in the Semifinals, 397-325. In his other matches, McClain won 448-387 over Sparta senior Derek Austin in the Round of 16 and 433-331 over Coldwater senior Shawn Johnson in the Quarterfinals.
Robison had a 226-208 lead over McClain after the first game of the final match. Robison closed it out with a 201-191 advantage in the final game.
"This is the first year our school had a high school team," McClain said. "We just talked to the A.D. Last year I bowled in tournaments, anything I could bowl, and practiced."
Click for full boys results and full girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison’s Hannah Ploof receives a hug from her mother, Pam, after winning the Division 2 individual title. (Middle) The Ploof family: Pam, 2011 individual champion Lindsay, Robert, Hannah. (Below) Sturgis champion Austin Robison stands with his coach, Terry Smith.