Schaumburg's Gawlik targets family tradition

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:58PM

Chances are Schaumburg girls bowling coach Mark Kelly won't soon forget the prank senior Jodi Gawlik pulled on him Nov. 8.

Gawlik limped into the first day of practice with a surgical boot on her left foot and told Kelly she fractured her tibia in a fall while rollerblading. She would miss at least three to four weeks.

Kelly immediately began reminding people that ‘‘you don't do something stupid right before the season'' and fretted about how the Saxons would do without Gawlik, one of the best bowlers in the state.

Twenty minutes later, Gawlik took off the boot and told Kelly it was just a joke.

‘‘That's downright dirty,'' said Kelly, who promised payback at some point. ‘‘I'll think of something [to retaliate].''

The joke's effect was heightened because it came from the usually serious-minded Gawlik, who is known for her focus and intensity on the lanes.

‘‘I thought it would be interesting to start off the year just by scaring him, because he's always like, ‘Oh, we're going to have a great team,' and what happens if one of your bowlers can't bowl?'' Gawlik said. ‘‘It was funny.''

It also was an indication that Gawlik intends to enjoy her final high school season, which she hopes ends with a history-making state championship that will continue her family's tradition of excellence.

Gawlik's mother, Donna, finished third in the state for Rich Central in 1980, and her sister, Marilyn, who now bowls at McKendree College, won the 2008 state title. The Gawliks would become the first set of sisters to win state should Jodi prevail in February.

‘‘I'm excited,'' Gawlik said. ‘‘It would be an incredible accomplishment for me and my mom and my sister.''

A four-year varsity bowler who has helped the Saxons advance to state each of the last three years, Gawlik has steadily improved since bursting onto the scene by taking 47th her freshman year. She moved up to 11th in 2009 - one spot ahead of Marilyn - and was second last winter, just 27 pins behind Collinsville's Frannie Steiner. Gawlik's 12-game pinfall of 2,729 would have won the title in all but two other years.

‘‘You can only go up from where you were last year and just hope for the best,'' said Gawlik, who is a regular at Poplar Creek Lanes.

‘‘I'm hoping that our team gets to state just like every other year that I've been on the team.''

Gawlik, who credits her youth coach Bill Wojnar with much of her success, once called her sister ‘‘my sunshine stealer.'' But now that she's out of Marilyn's shadow and has made a name for herself, she relishes the family link.

‘‘I would rather have people remember me as [part of] the Gawlik sisters,'' she said. ‘‘Because that's more memorable than just one person.''

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.