Jessica Ramirez leading on the lanes for women’s bowling

The NCC’s women’s bowling team wants to celebrate the small victories as the program is improving each year. This season has been highlighted by the performance of Jessica Ramirez ‘24. She set a new program record for NCC with a single-game score of 263 and also had the single highest game score in individual play by anyone in the Peacocks Classic. Ramirez was named the CCIW Bowler of the Week for the week of Jan. 25 for the second time in her career. 

“I feel honored to be representing NCC through this award,” said Ramirez. “It is a great feeling to know that I am making a difference in allowing this program to continue to progress. I am so happy to have been able to contribute to this team’s success, and it is wonderful knowing how supportive my team has been throughout our whole journey.” 

Head coach Jacob Sanborn believes Ramirez has grown tremendously as a bowler. 

“One thing that Jessica has worked on hard in this season is restoring her passion for the sport. Enjoying showing up to the lanes every day has led to her huge growth as a bowler,” Sanborn said.  

Racking up awards

Coach Sanborn knows how special of an accomplishment it was for Ramirez to set a new program record. According to Sanborn, Ramirez made it to the All-Tournament team with an average score of 198 per game, which trailed only two Division I bowlers from Valparaiso University. 

Ramirez recalled keeping a calm and positive mindset during her record-setting game. 

“During the match, I had the front five strikes, opened in the sixth frame, then struck out with a string of six more strikes. It was a challenge, but I stayed confident and continued to throw the ball well,” she said. “After the game, I felt excited because I knew that I was helping my team. Plus, being able to get myself into All-Tournament Team status was a goal. Everyone was just having so much fun which contributed immensely to the tournament being unforgettable.” 

Sanborn believes the team has made a lot of improvement as he enters his third season at the helm of the program.

A growing program

Coach Sanborn contributes the growth of the team to consistency and retention of every bowler from last year’s team. “We have continuously built on the foundation of dedication to the craft with our practice schedule. So, when we add team members like Ramirez who transferred in…the path to improvement was already set.”

Sanborn emphasized the importance of upperclassmen guidance. The leadership from players like Kelly Heighway ’22 and Allie Mulligan ’22 have helped the team improve, according to Sanborn. He also credits the junior class when it comes to upperclassmen influence.

The program will host the CCIW Competition at Bowlero in Naperville on March 5. The CCIW Championship is scheduled for March 26 at the same location.