By BURT ANGELI

Sports Writer

Brooke Fornetti couldn’t be happier bowling with the Alma College Scots.

The feeling is mutual from Alma College women’s head coach Kyle Woodcock.

“Brooke is having a great season,” Woodcock said. “She was pushed right into a starting role and responded extremely well.”

In the recent American Heartland III tournament at Kent, Ohio, the freshman from Iron Mountain led the Scots averaging 194 on the day. That number was a season-best for the team.

“This season has been a blast,” Fornetti said. “My new teammates are great and I’ve been bowling pretty good overall.”

Fornetti, the first Mountaineer to sign a collegiate letter of intent for bowling, had the 10th-highest total of any bowler on the day with a season-best 972 over five games for an average of 194.4. Her highest game was a 204, and she added three games of over 190.

Fornetti, who has broken 200 three times on the season, has found that college bowling tournaments can make for a long day. There’s also lane patterns to assess.

“The major differences between bowling in high school versus collegiate would have to be the long days bowling and the difficult patterns that change from weekend to weekend,” Fornetti said. “We sometimes have to get to the lanes at 7a.m. and don’t leave until 5 p.m., all the while rarely sitting down.”

Woodcock said Fornetti has been getting the hang of college oil patterns.

“Brooke is learning the college oil patterns that we bowl on and what adjustments are needed to be successful,” Woodcock. “She has been a great teammate and learning to work with all the other athletes for the overall success of the team.

“She has been a great find for Alma.”

Alma won the American Heartland IV, a tournament featuring three of the top 15 teams in the country.

“The girls bowled awesome,” Woodcock said. “They worked extremely well as a team. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Fornetti’s season began in mid-October, completing 2017 with a 167 average good for 242nd in the nation.

She has improved in 2018, helping the Scots finish 22nd out of 66 teams in the Kegel Classic in Addison, Ill. Fornetti averaged a 184 over five games, with her highest total being a 208 in her first game.

Bowling at the varsity level, there’s no junior varsity, the weekend tourneys can consist of five full games one day and 20 plus Bakers the next. Bakers are rolled in four-game sets.

Alma bowls Saturday, Feb, 17, in the two-day Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis. The season concludes in March with USBC events.