Freshman bowler helping NSU team reach for the top

GREAT BRIDGE

Vanderbilt or Norfolk State?

For Thea Aspiras, the choice was easy. She comes from a close-knit family in Great Bridge, and she wanted to bowl. Vandy boasts a top-10 bowling program, but Norfolk State is getting there, largely thanks to Aspiras, who is finishing up a sensational rookie campaign.

Bowling is an NCAA recognized sport at 66 Division I programs. Norfolk State is ranked 17th in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association poll.

Aspiras, a Great Bridge High graduate, has been MVP and a regular on various all-tournament teams for the Spartans, whose travels have taken them to Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.

In practice, she even rolled her first perfect game.

"We had her on our radar for years," said Spartans coach Wilhelmenia Harrison. "We rooted for her all through her high school years."

Bowling is an extension of family life for Aspiras, whose father Phil is manager at AnalyniX on Battlefield Boulevard, which bills itself as the "pro shop evolutionized for the bowling athlete."

Thea's older brothers, Phil and Theus, competed at a young age. Thea, now 19, tagged along to their practices and modeled her game after theirs.

"All of a sudden I got really competitive as the years went by," said Thea, who began bowling at 5. "I have a passion for it now."

The first time she beat her brother, Phil, she was 12. It was in practice at the AMF Lanes in Chesapeake.

"Because she was my younger sister, I was pretty happy for her," said Phil, 30. The two still will play mental games with each other at the alley. He touts her natural ability, simple style and tough attitude in tight spots.

"She does really well under pressure," he said. "She can ignore outside things and focus on her game."

For many, bowling is just a recreational and social activity. Thea is not that type of bowler. She lifts weights, does cardio participates in two-hour practices with the Spartans. Weekends are reserved for competition, which can mean 10-12 hours in an alley for three days straight.

"You have to focus on your target," she said. "You can't be negative. You see other people who are on top, but you can't worry about them. You have the urge to beat your opponent, but you have to reach your limit first, and if you're ready, you can get beyond that."

While her high school classmates competed in field hockey, soccer, tennis and softball, Thea traveled the country as a competitive bowler.

She took gold at the 2010 AAU championships in Virginia Beach. Last summer she finished sixth at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Olympic championships in Indianapolis and was ninth in the Teen Masters in Reno.

She didn't quite make the Team USA cut.

"I was right there," said Thea, who will vie for a spot again this summer.

Thea was a coveted recruit. The NSU coaches were the first to approach her, and during high school, she would watch team practices while bowling with her father.

Still, she was unsure about the idea of college bowling.

Her primary passion is art. She earned honorable mention in the mixed-media division of the Chesapeake Friends of the Arts 2010 spring art show. She excels at drawing portraits of people and landscapes. Thea considered art school but decided passing up a scholarship to NSU was too good of an opportunity.

Vanderbilt was among the schools that wanted her for bowling, but Thea felt at home at Norfolk State, where she can live at home and major in art.

Her biggest adjustment has been bowling as part of a team rather than focusing on individual accomplishments. Initially, she was unnerved by the sheer volume at collegiate bowling events, where chants and cheering are encouraged.

"At first it shocked me; it scared me," she said. "I never would let anyone talk to me before when I was bowling. Now with the team, I'm actually open to them. I changed my ways to be part of them. Now I can focus and cheer at the same time."

Norfolk State has beaten seventh-ranked Vanderbilt this season. The Spartans also upset top-ranked Maryland Eastern Shore, the perennial power in bowling in the MEAC and national champion in 2008. Thea has hopes for NSU winning its first conference tournament later this month.

"We'd like to get to the top," Thea said. "I'll do whatever it takes to get us there."

Vicki Friedman, (757) 222-5218, vicki.friedman@pilotonline.com