WPHS Bowler Earns OVAC Title Using Late Teammate’s Ball
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The pressure that often bothers Wheeling Park High School bowler Zac Davis when he steps up to the lane disappeared during the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference championship finals - with the ball of his late teammate in hand.
Known among teammates for his outgoing demeanor and jokester personality, WPHS bowler Devin Sovinsky was killed in a car crash on July 18, 2023. The loss was a devastating blow to the team, who relied on Sovinsky's quips to lighten the mood during a tough practice or game.
"When Devin was doing well, you needed to make a door bigger so his head could fit through," joked Davis, who had been Sovinsky's teammate for two years. "He was a good person."
Davis, who started bowling for fun, began taking the sport "seriously" a year and a half ago. The creation of the WPHS bowling team during his junior year is what Davis attributes to this turn from casual to serious participation.
As Davis began to play more frequently at weekly team practices, he found himself getting "better and better" with every throw. The better he became, the more invested he was in the sport.
Davis's upward trajectory in bowling was also in part due to Sovsinky. The two had been friends since ninth grade and loved to spend evenings hitting pins at Rose Bowl Lanes.
Davis bowls using a two-handed technique that creates more spin on the ball, allowing it to curve and "hook" more pins. Sovinsky used a more traditional one-handed bowling style, which does not allow for as much spin.
Despite their differences in technique, Davis noted that the two learned from each other over many hours spent playing together.
"Even though we played two completely different games, we were constantly telling each other, 'Hey just try this,' or asking each other, 'What about doing this?'" he recalled. "We got better because of it."
Due to the hours the two had spent at the lanes, they served as mentors on the WPHS team. Davis recalled him and Sovinsky helping teammates through the same learning process the two went through with each other.
WPHS teacher and varsity bowling coach Kevin Orth loved seeing the teamwork and friendship grow between players.
"These kids help each other out probably more than I do most of the time," he joked. "I'm always running around trying to help everybody at practice, so they're like extra coaches. I'll hear them telling each other, 'Hey, just slow the ball down a little or speed up a little bit.'"
Davis and junior Kaden Miller are the top two players on the varsity roster. Davis described the two often switching out between first- and second-place finishes on the team during competitions. The four other players that round out the roster are vital in picking up points.
Sovinsky, who fell somewhere in the middle of the pack, often stepped in to score points in crucial moments of matches. Davis noted he "definitely would have been up there" on this year's roster.
Though he fell somewhere in the middle of the team when it came to skill level, Sovinsky was at the top when it came to boosting morale. Orth recalled that he was "always joking around."
"He would always say the things that you didn't want somebody to say just to jinx you," reminisced Orth. "You could be going up for a simple shot, and Devin would say, "Oh that's easy," and then you'd miss it. He was always that joke we needed."
"It was always fun to have that teammate who could lighten things up," added Davis. "When we were losing by 300 points, though, I'd have to tell him, 'Stop talking.'"
After Sovinsky's passing, the team began brainstorming ways to pay tribute to him. Sovinsky's initials and date of passing are now stitched onto the sleeves of their uniform as a reminder of their lost friend.
Before this year's season, Davis searched for ways to pay a personal tribute to his friend through the sport. He decided there would be no better way to carry on Sovinsky's bowling legacy than by using his teammate's ball to pick up spares during games.
After getting permission from Sovinsky's mother, Bobbi Porter, the senior got his former teammate's ball fitted for his hand size to use during the season.
Besides wanting to remember his friend, Davis had another rationale for using the ball. Sovinsky's ball is plastic, which makes throwing curved shots difficult. The ball is perfect, though, for hitting straight shots at leftover pins.
"The 10-pin is the one pin that every bowler hates because you have to throw a straight shot with no hook to pick it up," explained Davis. "I always use Devin's ball to hit that pin."
Now armed with tributes to his friend on his uniform and equipment, Davis went into the season with a chip on his shoulder matched by the rest of his teammates.
At OVACs last year, Orth described the young team as struggling. Even though they "had a chance to win," he said the team was 'just not able to put it together."
Heading into this year's season, prospects were not too bright for the group. The team not only had to weather a roster where three out of the six players had never bowled before but also had to cope with losing a teammate.
Despite the initial struggle to adjust without Sovinsky at the start of the season, Orth recalled a shift happening. The team united under a common goal: "Win it for Devin."
"This year, it was our goal the whole season to come out and win," noted Orth. "Everybody on the team was saying, 'We're gonna win it for Devin,' so the team was brought a little closer together."
On the big day of competition, Orth noted the team "kicked it into gear" and outperformed expectations on individual and group levels. Before OVACs, Orth did not expect the team to be certain of their win going into the final frames, but on that Saturday they were.
"Usually, we're close to that win and just miss out, or we're behind and never able to come back," he described. "They all just stepped up big time."
Bowling is a "very mental game," outlined Davis. He explained that "little details and technicalities" can make all the difference in one's performance. As someone who often battles nervousness in an already mentally tough game, Davis was surprised every time he stepped up to the lane during the competition, his head was clear.
"I felt relaxed, it was not nerve-wracking at all" noted Davis. "I stepped up and thought, "I'm going to do what I know I can do." The pressure was completely off, and that's how the 296 happened."
The 296 points Davis scored in the third round of the competition is only four points shy of a perfect score. The 235 points Davis racked up in each of the first two rounds added up to the 766 total that earned him the title of the Class 5A Top Boys Bowler.
Apart from a relaxed atmosphere, Orth noted that Davis had a couple of "luck strikes" that contributed to his outstanding score.
"There were some throws where it looks like he had a little help," explained Orth. "We joked around that it was Devin helping out."
Davis even felt Sovinsky's presence when he fell shy of the perfect 300-point score in his last throw.
"As soon as I threw it, I knew I missed those final four pins," recalled Davis. "I knew Devin was laughing at me and making fun of me because of that.
"If he were there, he totally would have made a comment like, 'You were so close and messed it up, what the heck?'" Davis continued. "Everyone else would have congratulated me, and I know Devin would still be joking around and giving me a hard time."
Davis's performance coupled with a strong showing from the rest of the team earned them a ticket to nationals. Davis is thrilled to extend his senior season until June when the team will head to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to compete.
To see his team not only recover from the loss of a teammate but then win at the highest levels in the region was "surreal" for Orth.
As a teacher, Orth was proud of his students for coming together to remember Sovinsky. As a coach, he was thrilled to see the team step up in a major way to end the season on a "feel good" moment.
"It was just great to have them all band together under this common cause of winning for Devin," described Orth. "At nationals, the team will stay relaxed and not overthink. It will just be another match for us."
Davis hopes to continue his bowling career in college and has aspirations to play professionally. Whether or not he makes it in the big leagues, Davis will never stop using Sovinsky's ball to pick up spares.