Image: Unified Bocce – White Team (Coach DeCola, Sophia Braida, Ally Hilbert, Louis Gilson, Shannon McCormick, Todd Kooistra, Mya Lukas, Donovan Freedman)
Sophia Braida
On February 18, both of Wallenpaupack’s Bocce teams competed at leagues to fight for a spot in regionals. Each team took part in three games as they tried to secure a spot at regionals. Since the top two teams from leagues advance to regionals, each of Wallenpaupack’s teams would have to win their first two games to advance.
For their first round of the night, the Purple team played Carbondale. Due to the meet’s bracket format, if either team lost here, it would mean that they wouldn’t have a chance to advance. Luckily this wasn’t the case, and despite a tight game, the Purple team emerged victorious with a final score of 6-4. The White team’s first round was against Abington Heights. Despite an unfortunate start, the White team also managed to catch up and win their first match by a score of 7-5.
After winning their first matches, the White and Purple team only needed to win their second game to make it to regionals. The Purple team played against Mid Valley and had an overwhelming success of 9-0. The White team on the other hand played against Lackawanna Trail. Due to a strong start, Lackawanna Trail wasn’t able to catch up and the White team also ended up winning 7-3.
Since both of Wallenpaupack’s teams won their first two games, they already earned their spots at regionals. However, the White and Purple team would still compete against one another for first and second place. The White team had a minor lead throughout most of the game, but the Purple team caught up and both teams tied 6-6. After going into overtime, the White team managed to solidify a win 8-6. Overall, the White team ended up winning first place and the Purple team earned second place. Both teams will move on and attend the regional meet in March at Penn State Schuylkill.
