Much like the final runner in a relay race or the cleanup hitter in a baseball lineup, a bowler occupying the anchor position is relied on to come through in the clutch when the team needs it most.
While the pressure-packed role means bowling last in a five-person lineup, a reliable anchor can often make a marked difference — one that usually hinges on a few pins — between hoisting a trophy and leaving the alley empty-handed.
Hawaii Baptist Academy senior Amanda Lac anchors the school’s varsity bowling squad, and has played an integral role in leading the Eagles into the Billy Tees/HHSAA State Bowling Championships at the Hickam Bowling Center on Thursday and Friday. While Lac looks forward to pursuing a career in the medical field by engaging in pre-med and biomedical courses in college, she is focused on completing her prep bowling journey this week by competing at the sport’s highest level for a fourth consecutive year.
Lac turned in an impressive ILH season, leading the league with a high-game score of 254 and also carrying a league-best 178.58 average through 33 games. The Eagles claimed the ILH team championship and the league’s top spot into the state tournament by downing Sacred Hearts 2-1 in a playoff-style "roll-off." While the Lancers took the first game 886-807, Hawaii Baptist bounced back with wins of 944-818 and 874-845 to secure the title.
Hawaii Baptist was buoyed by a consistent effort from all its bowlers, six of whom placed within the league’s top 27 positions. Senior Zoe Wang (169.70 scoring average), sophomore Shelby Suzuki (165.52) and junior Candace Minami (159.83) finished fourth, sixth and 10th in the ILH and will join Lac in the Eagles’ effort to pin down their first state team title since 1974.
"I just want to give my all, and give all the glory to God," Lac said. "It’s been a long time since HBA has captured one of those (state titles)."
Lac took up bowling in middle school as a member of Leeward Bowl’s junior bowling club. She made the varsity squad as a freshman and continued to learn under coach Greg Hayashi, now in his 22nd year of leading the program and also a teacher at HBA. The bowler credits the skipper for his personality, and for "treating us like his daughters, not just his players."
"He’s just a great person, in the bowling alley, outside the bowling alley and at school," she added.
"I’ve been really blessed," added Lac of her four-year foray in the state championships. "It’s really special, and I can’t believe that this is finally the last year. I’m really looking forward to giving my all and going for it for Mr. Hayashi."
HBA will be hard-pressed to overtake the two-time defending state champions from Pearl City, while also facing pressure from Sacred Hearts, which saw five bowlers place in the ILH’s top 12. Caitlin Cunningham, a junior with the Lancers who placed 11th overall in last year’s state championships, enters the talented field as the ILH singles leader after bowling a 703 series in the league playoff against HBA. Hailey Ganiron, another Sacred Hearts junior who placed seventh in the state last season, finished third in ILH scoring average behind Lac and Cunningham, and paired with Cunningham to claim the league’s doubles title.
To say Lac is a state-tournament veteran would be an understatement. As a freshman, she finished 27th overall with 1,472 pins, and followed that up in 2011 with a sixth-place mark (1,533 pins) as the Eagles took third as a team. Last year, Lac finished 20th overall (1,463 pins) as HBA finished in fourth place. In all three instances, Lac finished as the Eagles’ top bowler.
"I just need to stick to what I’ve been doing, and get enough stamina so I don’t die out after six games on Thursday and three more on Friday," said Lac with a chuckle. "It’s definitely a different atmosphere when you get to states. There are so many people, and they’re all really good."
