By: Tyler Push, Sports Editor
Newman sent two men’s bowlers to Addison, Illinois, to compete in the national tournament April 18-23.
Senior Tyler Synovec and junior James McIver placed third and sixth, respectively, out of 180 bowlers in the sectional tournament. Both tied for ninth place out of 24 individuals at nationals.
This marks the second time in his career that Synovec has gone to nationals.
“When competing at nationals, the thing that worked well for me was to not let the moment feel too big and act like I belonged there,” he said. “My focus was to take the tournament one shot at a time and to let the score just come to me.”
Synovec said that he had hoped to win a national championship for Newman, but spares were a bit of a struggle for him during play.
“I wish I would have been able to make some better shots and apply more pressure to my opponent in matchplay,” he said. “I let my heart beat too fast, and that took me right out of the match.”
Synovec averaged 197 during the regular season while McIver finished with a 203 average, the third best on the team.
McIver said that he credits the coaching staff and his teammates for helping him get better throughout the season and make an appearance in the national tournament.
“Making it to nationals helped me prove to myself that I am good enough to bowl against the best,” he said. “My biggest focus was making sure that every practice was productive and converting all my spares.”
McIver said that he wishes his mindset would’ve been better during nationals because he believes this was the biggest obstacle.
“The biggest struggle that I had at nationals was getting ahead of myself,” he said. “I was looking into the future rather than just staying in the moment.”
Synovec said that the team has a great group of guys and he is excited to see them compete next year knowing that they’re putting in work every day to get better. McIver said that his goal is to get the whole team to nationals next year so they can experience what it is like.
PHOTO: Courtesy photo, Tyler Synovec
