WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Carroll University women's bowling team, coming off their first ever season as a program, are hungry to stay in the same top-four spot they finished last season. But for Head Coach Courtney Ermisch, that means working a bit differently with this new group of freshmen bowlers.
 
The Pioneers finished last season with a 29-49 head-to-head record, and 10-6 in conference matchups. Carroll qualified for the CCIW Women's Bowling Championships their first season in the league, and finished fourth in the tournament. In a long season with just two conference meets before the championships, Ermisch will take a new approach to mentoring the young newcomers to the program, "The best way to repeat the success of last year is to find out what worked well and what didn't work well," says Ermisch. "We'll be using the first two tournaments this season as growth opportunities, rather than over-doing it and over-coaching. We want to get these new athletes acclimated to the bowling environment first."
 
The Pioneers have five bowlers on the roster to begin the season, three of which are incoming freshmen to the program. Returning for the group are sophomore Alexis Ciesemier and Junior Sydney Raddeman. Ermisch is excited to see these two grow as leaders in the program, and to help teach and co-coach the new ones how to overcome adversity at meets. "It has been super fun so far taking on a leadership role within this team," says Raddeman. "Being a leader isn't something that is new to me, I have the same mindset now as I did as a high school captain, stay positive, stay motivated, encourage everyone, listen to your teammates and coaches, and work hard every day."
 
"I hope my teammates will be able to rely on me not only as a leader but as a friend," says Ciesmier. "By the end of the season, I hope to see a steady improvement from each tournament with scores, and relationships. The Pioneers will begin the season at UW-Whitewater on Saturday, October 22.