Longwood girls roll behind Hines, Wheeler
Morris, Gene. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Jan 2021
The lack of spectators was noticeable for Rachel Hines, but she wasn’t about to let that get her off her game.
The Longwood senior enjoys stepping up against the top competition in high intensity matches and she did just that Friday to lead her team to a 32-8 win over Patchogue-Medford in Suffolk I girls bowling.
Hines rolled a 227 in the second game of a 645 series and Katelyn Wheeler added a 212 in the third game for Longwood.
“I’m very grateful to be back here and to have the season going,” Hines said. “The biggest difference is the lack of fans being enthusiastic but we have a great support system that’s helping us.”
The match featured Suffolk’s two highest averages from last season in Hines and the Raiders’ Canan Bademci.
“I definitely pay attention to how she’s doing and I watch her scores knowing that I need to try and one up her to help my team and to be the best that I can be,” Hines said.
Bademci, Newsday’s 2020 girls bowler of the year, rolled a high game of 232 in a 605 series. Her teammate Gianna Guido added a match high 247 in the third game of a 616 series.
“With them being such a good team it’s always competitive,” Bademci said. “I knew I needed to pick up my spares and even though I was missing them I was able to come back in the last game.”
Bademci and Hines were both members of the Suffolk All-Star team that competed upstate last year.
“They’re definitely conscious of who they’re bowling against,” Longwood coach David Huey said. “And Rachel thrives on competition. It’s a testament to how much she bowls and how much work she puts in. She’s so used to it that she doesn’t get nervous.”
Both Hines and Wheeler agreed it will take some getting used to not having spectators at the matches but are looking forward to just being able to compete again with their friends.
“It’s great to be back here because I haven’t been able to see many people,” Wheeler said. “At first it was weird but it’s just nice to be back and we’re helping each other get through it.”
GIRLS BOWLING: LI BOWLER OF THE YEAR
Boell, John. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 06 Mar 2021
Newsday Bowler of the Year: Rachel Hines, Sr., Longwood
Not only was Rachel Hines the best girls bowler on Long Island this season by average, she was almost certainly its most consistent.
The Longwood senior only failed to roll at least a 202 on four occasions (and never lower than a 170) out of 36 games this season.
She led all bowlers on Long Island with a 220.9722 average, was fourth (30.5) in match points, and seventh in Suffolk in high series (712).
Lions coach David Huey knows why Hines was so successful.
“We’d be getting done a practice, or a match, and she’d be telling me she was going to another alley for a two-hour lesson,” the eighth-year head coach said. “She was so hard on herself, so driven, and so hard-working.”
Hines, who was a Newsday All-Long Island First Team member the previous two seasons, will attend Mount St. Mary’s University (Md.) on a combined athletic and academic scholarship, which will cover most of her tuition, Huey said.
The National Honor Society member has a 95 average and is also a volunteer firefighter.
“She’s really well-rounded and someone who’s respected by her peers,” Huey said. “Everyone around school is always asking her: ‘How did you do?’ She has changed the way the sport of bowling is viewed at Longwood, single-handedly.”
Bowled over by a zeal to help others
Gross, Arlene. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 June 2021:
Seventh grade was a pivotal year in Rachel Hines’ life.
That’s when the Longwood High School senior, now 18, started collecting arts-and-crafts care packages to distribute to hospitalized children. With donations from friends and the community, Rachel’s Caring for Kids has distributed about 200 packages.
“At least bringing a smile to their face will brighten my day a little more because I know that they’re happy – and they’re not sad and lonely sitting in a room by themselves,” said Hines, who lives in Yaphank.
Penny Hines said she admires her daughter’s dedication. “She’s worked very hard to build her reach and continues to come up with new and exciting ways to help others,” she said.
The same year, Rachel started bowling for her high school team. Two years later, she hired Joey Novara, a Sachem North champion bowler in the late 2000s, to improve her game. Hines, who loves math and English and plays varsity softball, credits Novara for her excellence and 221 average game score – and her integral role in Suffolk’s All-Star team capturing the 2018 state championship.
What makes Hines great is her willingness to adapt to various techniques, Novara said. “Her versatility is one of the best.”
Hines puts so many hours into the team that, “the fact that she still has time for part-time job and school, is mind blowing,” said Doug Dwyer, who coached Hines’ older brother on Longwood’s boys bowling team and knows the family well.
Since COVID-19, Hines has run sock drives for the homeless and collected laptops for students who can’t afford them. She works as a photographer, memorializing weddings and Sweet 16 parties; she also pursues photography as a hobby, snapping cars, trucks and people.
She appreciates being able to focus on things she finds beautiful, adding, “I’m more of a truck girl myself.”