Central bowlers and boys swimmers and divers plunge into their winter campaigns
The Hinsdale Central boys and girls bowling teams feature a little experience and a lot of fresh additions to their rosters this season, making for a steep learning curve but plenty of opportunity for growth. The Red Devils boys swim and dive team, meanwhile, is coming off the program's second consecutive state title and with sights set on a three-peat. (file photos)
The lanes are open for Hinsdale Central athletes, as the boys and girls bowling teams have begun their seasons and boys swimming and diving has its first competition on Friday. Read what each program's head coach thinks about their respective rosters and competitive prospects.
This is the second of three winter sports preview stories. The first installment ran Nov. 28, and the concluding one will appear in the Dec. 12 issue.
Boys bowling
First match: Nov. 11 vs. Fenton (V lost 2,044-2,468)
Last season: 1-14, 10th in regional
Head coach: Alex Hipskind
Seasons as head coach: 23
No. team members: 15
Team strengths: We've got a group of nice kids, and I think every kid wants to get better.
Areas for growth: We're looking for an increased level of commitment and consistency among the team in order for us to be more competitive.
Who to watch: Newcomer senior Alex Rivera is a natural leader that kids gravitate to. I think he's primarily a baseball player but was able to make it work with bowling this year. Junior Will Egbert is a great kid, very positive and very committed. He comes to every practice, every match, and he's improved every single year I've had him.
Outlook: We're trying to get guys to not focus on the team's record but rather on being a better bowler every single day. We want them to open up their minds and listen to the coaches in the hopes that they improve. We have several freshmen, and I'm excited that they're in the program. A couple have solid 120 averages, which is pretty good, and we are hoping that they remain with us for the next three years.
Girls bowling
First match: Dec. 3 vs. Neuqua Valley (V lost 1,569-1,860)
Last season: 9th in regional
Head coach: Paul Parpet
Seasons as head coach: 10
No. team members: nine
Team strengths: We have some nice kids, and it's a good group that wants to continue to get better.
Areas for growth: We have some girls that have never bowled before and so you have to start from square one to help them learn the fundamentals: aiming, approach and follow-through, and to have the mentality that you're only as good as your next shot.
Who to watch: senior Chi Chi Oranu is our sole returning bowler. She won the Red Devil Award last season for best team spirit. She's always on her game and does a great job of supporting her teammates. Newcomers that should be good for us are seniors Katherine Choe, Aurora Allen, freshman Kirsten Young and junior Gabby Kawa.
Outlook: Bowling is a game of learning to make adjustments, but it can take a while to get the techniques down. We face good competition, so more than just results I hope they enjoy the experience and keep working to get better.
Boys swimming
First meet: Dec. 6 vs. Waubonsie Valley
Last season: state champion
Head coach: Bob Barber
Seasons as head coach: 11
No. team members: 28
Team strengths: The boys have done the right things to set themselves up for a state title three-peat this season. Our top four or five kids can really do any of the events, which makes it harder to make decisions but at the same time is very convenient. We have depth but we also have really intelligent kids.
Areas for growth: Probably one of our greatest challenges is going to be fitting in all the pieces to the puzzle and knowing which role each kid is going to play. We know right away what kids are good at or not good at certain events, but we want to move them around and keep them fresh so they're not just doing the same thing over and over again.
Who to watch: Senior and Indiana University-bound Josh Bey has done so many different things for our team and is one of those versatile pieces that we can put virtually anywhere. Senior Henry Guo has broken school records and is likely to compete in the individual medley or the butterfly or backstroke. Junior Matt Vatev is the state record holder in the 50-meter breaststroke, and his brother, sophomore Luke Vatev, won a handful events and will be a force to be reckoned with by the end of the season. Seniors Frankie Adamo and Noah Pelinkovic and junior Brandon Suliga are all returning state qualifiers.
Outlook: Hinsdale Central currently owns six of the 11 state swimming records. There's nothing less than another state championship in our minds. That would put us in very elite company, but we'll have to hit on all cylinders to pull it off. I think we have a group that is talented enough to do it.
