Bowling team ranked preseason No. 1
Indians’ strength lies in their immense depth
(From left) Evan Murad, Jake Murad, Trevor Lauber, Coach Judy Lucia, Scott Morris, Brian Biml, and James Holland pose after the Indians win in the Tom Irwin Classic. Valley will look to continue its early success and eventually emerge victorious in the county and state sectional tournaments.
Coach: Judy Lucia
Last year’s record: 59-11
Key Returners: Scott Morris (Sr., 205 average in 2017), Brian Biml (Sr., 209 average in 2017), Trevor Lauber (Sr., 205 average in 2017)
Key Losses: Henry Tipping
Key Newcomers: Jake Murad (Sr., 174 average in 2017), James Holland (Jr., 162 average in 2017), AJ McKeever (Jr., 150 average in 2017), Evan Murad (So., 160 average in 2017)
Strength of team: Depth. PV has three returning starters, as well as Jake Murad, who played in the wake of Morris’ hand injury last year, but the Indians also have a number of capable bowlers behind them. According to Lucia, Jake Murad and Holland will rotate as the fourth varsity starter, and the team has McKeever and Evan Murad as substitutes in case of injury or an unexpected absence.
Weakness of team: Lucia doesn’t want her team to get overconfident, despite the fact that the Indians are coming off a successful season last year and are the preseason No. 1 ranked team by NorthJersey.com.
“We know we are probably the best team out there [in North Jersey], if not one of the top two or three,” Lucia said. “But we can’t let that get in our heads.”
Outlook: Valley is off to a good start thus far in 2018. The Indians came in first place at the Tom Irwin classic, a preseason tournament, on Nov. 30. During that tournament, Jake Murad bowled a 268 in his first game, Morris bowled a 211 in his third game, and Lauber and Biml finished with the tournament’s two highest series, as they finished with a 736 and 696, respectively. On Dec. 8, Lauber and Jake Murad placed 10th and 22nd out of 108 bowlers, respectively, in a tournament in southern NJ, where the Indians went to face tougher competition.
The Indians also won their first regular season match over Bergenfield by a score of 7-0 on Tuesday.
As for long term goals, Lucia would like to win Bergen County tournament for the first time since 2016 and Valley hopes to win the state sectional tournament after a second place finish a year ago.
Coach’s Comment: “[In order to be successful] you have to have 6 or 7 good bowlers. We have 8, at least 8,” Lucia said as she described PV’s deep roster.
Starters: Morris, Biml, Lauber, Jake Murad, Holland
