Bowling reaches new heights due to unique atmosphere

Alexa Crociata celebrates with her teammates after bowling a strike in a match against St. Ursula at Mason Bowl.

Camden Paeltz | The Chronicle

The Mason girls’ bowling team is placing a priority on team camaraderie, building relationships and personal growth, and letting success come to them.

The team is in the midst of its best season since 2015 and is tied for third place in the Greater Miami Conference. Senior team captain Alexa Crociata said that the strong relationships between teammates had been a significant factor in their performance.

“I feel like the bowling team is a family,” Crociata said. “It’s a group of my friends that I feel close to. I think it contributes to our success because we’re so close together and we just want success for each other.”

Senior Allison Batty believes that bowling is a very mental sport. She said that the supportive atmosphere helps her get in the right mindset and  improves her play

“If you get in your head and are having a bad day, it’s going to show in your scores,” Batty said. “When you have good friends around and you’re having a great time doing what you love, then you do so much better and it does reflect in your scores.”

Senior Marisa Crociata has played a variety of sports throughout her entire life, including being on the Mason varsity volleyball team. Crociata said that the Mason Bowling team’s environment is unique to her experience in sports.

“For volleyball, it’s a lot more of a competitive atmosphere,” Crociata said. “There’s a lot more going on and there is a lot more pressure on you. But in bowling, you have more downtime and more time to think about what you’re going to do before you do it. You can take a deep breath before you go up to bowl.”

During competitions, bowlers from each team are split between two lanes. Because of this, players always have a teammate or two with them. Opposing bowlers get to engage with each other in a friendly, conversational manner despite the competitive environment. Marisa Crociata believes that these gestures during the match are part of what separates bowling from other sports.

“There’s going to be a winner and there’s going to be a loser but it’s also really important to show good sportsmanship and always be kind,” Crociata said. “If this is just something small like telling somebody a good job, then that can make their day and it is really impactful.”

Photo by Camden Paeltz