Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College women's bowling program will hit the lanes for the first time in school history on Thursday, February 11th. The inaugural season begins with the Seahawks bowling three traditional matches against fellow Northeast Conference (NEC) member, Mount St. Mary's, at Rab's Country Lanes.
Head coach Joe Ambrose has put together a roster of seven bowlers:
Amanda Burdett,
Jessica Fetik,
Amanda Medvetz,
Totiana Miranda,
Jamie Nasatka,
Victoria Shaw and
Anelise Terrano.
Coach Ambrose took some time to speak with us as his team gears up for their inaugural season.
Wagnerathletics.com: How have the last few weeks been preparing for the season opener?
Coach Ambrose: We recently had our first practice since November this week and through it all, the girls have been working on things on their own. I know we are all very excited to get started. Having our first matches come against Mount St. Mary's, who is ranked No. 7 in the recent polls, it will be a very tough test right away for our players but know we will come out and compete.
Wagnerathletics.com: Talk to us a bit about this Wagner team.
Coach Ambrose: We brought in terrific student-athletes. This year is not only about starting up the program, but, laying the foundation for the future. The key to our success is pairing all the experience that I have as a coach with putting our players in positions to be successful. If they add enthusiasm and hard-work on top of that, then that, will make us a cohesive team very quickly.
Wagnerathletics.com: Tell us a little bit about the home lanes for the Seahawks, Rab's Country Lanes.
Coach Ambrose: I have known Frank Wilkinson, the proprietor of Rab's Country Lanes for many years as I use to take my program to meets that fellow Northeast Conference (NEC) member, St. Francis Brooklyn, hosted here back in 2007 through 2011. I am familiar with the center and the staff here. It is great to have a home center minutes from campus and know that Rab's is excited to be the official home of Wagner Bowling.
Wagnerathletics.com: You are no stranger to the NEC bowling scene, talk a little about returning to the lanes as a head coach and how you have seen NEC Bowling progress.
Coach Ambrose: When I was the head coach at Kutztown, we were one of the original teams in the conference when it started back in 2008-09. As a head coach in this conference, and serving as head NCAA official last season, I know how competitive the league is. Every single match comes down-to-the-wire. The other aspect that makes this league hyper-competitive is that we all recruit from much of the same areas. We have some incredible coaches in the NEC and are all highly-competitive. I am looking forward to us hosting and competing for many years to come.
2021 Season
The Seahawks appeared in its first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) preseason poll back on February 2.
Thursday's match with the Mountaineers will feature one traditional match, one baker match and one best-of-seven baker match. Following the three-match series with the Mountaineers, the Seahawks will host its first-ever invitational, the Seahawks Invite, on Friday, Feb. 12 at Rab's Country Lanes. The Seahawks will see a familiar in Mount St. Mary's as well as welcoming the LIU Sharks.
Wagner will then hit the road for its first conference meet of the season at the NEC #1 in Mount Joy, PA at Clearview Lanes on Feb. 19 and close out the three-day meet on Feb. 21. The final league meet, NEC #2, is scheduled for Feb. 26 and concludes on Feb. 28.
This year's NEC Championship, which will also be a three-day meet, will commence on Mar. 18 and wrap-up on Mar. 21.
