Stevenson bowling coach Gina Johnson went over her expectations for her junior state qualifier, Kaitlyn Rudy, shortly before the tournament began Friday.
“I just wanted to make it to Day 2. That was my goal,” Rudy said. “Then coach says she wants me to place in the top four. I thought, ‘You’re crazy. Are you kidding? Do you know how hard that’s going to be?’ “
Rudy delivered. Easily qualifying for the second day, Rudy rolled a 662 series Saturday, including a 247 in her final game that vaulted her from 12th place to third, the highest state finish for a Stevenson bowler.
It’s been a memorable postseason run for Rudy, who helped her team capture a regional title, took home a sectional championship and was clearly hitting her stride at the right time.
“She is one of those rare bowlers who has something in her that’s bigger than just confidence,” Johnson said. “When you get to that second day of state, everybody is a great bowler. They’re going to strike or spare all the time. But what it will come down to is who can handle that one open frame that happens to everyone. That’s the thing that would fry someone’s brains and lead to an emotional crumble. But Kaitlyn’s the kind of bowler who might have a bad hit, but also knows how to clean it up.”
Such a scenario happened in her final game of the weekend. After rolling a strike in the first, Rudy’s pocket hit in the second resulted in a seven-10 split. From that moment, it was decision time.
“It brought me down a little, but I just thought to myself that I can make it up,” Rudy said. “And then I threw five strikes in a row.”
Rudy didn’t exactly light the lanes up during Friday’s first round, rolling a well-below-average 185 in her first game. Her ensuing 248 and 279 gave her a hard-earned 700 series for the third time in as many weeks. Her 639 series in the afternoon session earned her a shot in Saturday’s finals, where she would start the day in sixth place, just 46 pins behind the leader.
The rest, Rudy admitted, was a bit of a blur. Her first two games were below her average but still kept her within a shot of a top 10 finish. It wasn’t until she finished her final round that she realized she had made school history.
And her best moment was yet to come.
“My dad is a big numbers guy, and he thought maybe I had worked my way up about four places with the last game,” she said. “It turns out I jumped up nine.
“Probably my favorite moment was when I was finally done. The first thing I did was turn around, and I saw my dad. And I ran up to him and we hugged and we both started crying. I needed a big game, and I did it.”
