Girls bowling: Juniors Isabella Phillips (Vermilion) and Katie Smith (Firelands) making first appearance at state tournament

Isabella Phillips and Katie Smith are natural rivals being from Vermilion and Firelands, respectively, but don't expect either to dunk on the other no matter how today's Division II state bowling tournament goes. As co-workers at the Dunkin' Donuts in Vermilion, that wouldn't be appropriate. "I'm a little nervous just because I've never been able to make it there before," Phillips said of the state tournament at HP Lanes in Columbus. "I'm not trying to worry as much on it. My goal was to make it to state. I was never really thinking about it after I got there. I'm just going to try and do my best since I earned it to be there." Phillips and Smith are both juniors making their first trips to state after finishing as the top individual qualifiers from their district tournaments. Phillips qualified for state last Friday out of the Northwest district at Interstate Lanes in Rossford, rolling a 660 series with games of 170, 232 and 258. Smith qualified Saturday out of the Northeast district at Roseland Lanes in Oakwood Village with a 588 series with games of 168, 217 and 203. Phillips was 81 pins over her 193 season average, while Smith was 30 pins over her 186 average. "I'm very nervous and I'm very excited," Smith said of today's tournament. "I'm very grateful to get to go to state this year. That's been my goal since my freshman year. I'm excited for state. I feel like I will do well. I'm prepared. I feel like that I have all the equipment that I need. Any equipment that I don't need I'm preparing in case. I'm going into it with positive thoughts and an open mind. "I think keeping an open mind is important. During the season one of the ways is by talking with our teammates and trying to distract ourselves if we're not doing well. Knowing that one spare could cost you but it's not the end of the world. If you jump right back on the strike train you can get back in the game." "I just try to block everything out," Phillips said of her approach. "If any of my teammates are having a bad day I try to help them out as best as I can. In the end, bowling is very much an individual sport. If one of your teammates is struggling, you having a good day is going to help a lot. I try to, of course, help out others but also to calm down if I'm getting a little worked up about my game." Today will be different for both, of course, since they are competing as individuals and not as part of a team. "I think it'll be fine," Phillips said. "I focus a lot better (in singles) and I'm lot calmer. I think that I focus a lot better since there's nobody that I know or I'm talking to." "Bowling singles is definitely a different mindset," Smith said. "If you're having a bad day you don't have your teammates there to support you if you're not doing as well. Individual is more like you have to be doing good. You have to stay in that good mindset, otherwise you can fail. It's important to be in a good mindset and focus on what you need to do. Staying positive is one of the most important things." Vermilion coach Mary Lou Rebman-Poli and Firelands coach Willie Smith, Katie's dad, are upbeat about their bowlers' chances. "Isabella comes from a bowling family," Rebman-Poli said. "They all do when they bowl that well. They start in junior leagues just like Will's daughter and go on up. Bella's got a level head. She doesn't get mad. She keeps on plugging along. I'm sure she's going to do very well. She loves her sport. She should. She's good at it. She's a very talented young girl. "Tournaments are a grind. You can't give up and these girls don't give up. She was determined this year to go after it. When she started with a 170 (at districts), I told her don't give up. Bella didn't. She came back with 232 and 258. She did very well. She's an exciting girl to watch. She's tall. She's got good arm swing, great approach, smooth. She knows her stuff." "My job is try and keep her calm and collected and keep her slowed down," Willie Smith said of Katie. "You can get in a hurry when you're by yourself. You have to shift gears a bit because it's kind of a different pace. She's paired with the team from Mechanicsburg, so it's kind of like bowling with a new team. It's like making new friends. That a new element. You have to remember that. "She's put in a lot of work. She's mentally prepared. I think she's physically prepared. We do all have our days. She's going to be a bit out of her element. For districts she had her teammate Aubrey West bowling next to her. Right now, she's just going to have a coach down in the pit and a fan base behind her that she can't communicate with. It's going to be a challenge for her." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.