Coming off of their first win of the season, the bowling teams shifted their focuses to Lowell on Wednesday, as they looked to continue the momentum. Led by some stellar bowling from the Payne siblings, sophomore Tommy and senior Sydney, the Rangers put up a great fight; however, both teams fell short in the end but were defeated in a much more respectable fashion than the other losses. The boys lost 21-9 and the girls fell 20-10.

On the boys side of things, Tommy Payne made the Red Arrows feel the pain, as he bowled the best round there has been for the Rangers so far this season. Tommy bowled a 196, a round that he and the team were both very proud of.

“The key [to the great round] was really just staying calm and taking it one shot at a time,” Tommy said.

After rising up from the JV ranks, Tommy has taken full advantage of his opportunity. He has impressed the coaches and shown he can be a mainstay on varsity this year.

“Going from ‘not a bowler’ to grabbing a starting spot on varsity in a matter of weeks is really something special and something [Tommy] should be extremely proud of,” head coach Grant Vermeer said. “He’s been a huge asset for us, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the season looks like for him.”

Even though Tommy was helped out by his teammates with some pretty good scores, Lowell had its own firepower and was too strong for the Rangers, as the boys went on to lose 21-9.

The girls game against the Red Arrows was very similar to that of the boys, with the girls losing 20-10. Senior Zoey Guikema was the leading scorer in the first game, with an impressive bowl 0f 154. The other member of the Payne family duo, Sydney, had the high score of the day for the girls team, bowling a 171 in the second game. Senior Addy Kaechele helped the team out immensely, bowling consistent 133 scores in both games.          

While the Lady Rangers did bowl well, they were without the fifth member of their team on Wednesday. With only four girls on the roster and no available subs, they bowled with a member down and were already in a deep hole before the match even started.

Overall, this week showed that the Rangers have already improved so far this season and have the potential to beat some really good teams. The bowling teams now have a long break, as the Rangers next match is when they take on a variety of teams at the Lowell Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 12.