A 4.0 student who averages 185 for the Versailles bowling team, senior Danielle Francis plans for a career in nursing. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A senior leader on the Versailles women’s bowling team, Danielle Francis portends quality with everything she does.
It had been suggested for some time.
“Hey, you ought to write about Danielle Francis.”
Or….
Recently, her coach, Tyler Phlipot, reinforced what others have been saying since the beginning of this year’s WOHSBC bowling season.
“Great kid…good bowler, and everything she does she does well,” he said last week. “She’d be a good story.”
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When we finally got to sit down with Danielle Francis last week everything we had heard was instantly evident.
She is a good bowler, currently averaging 185, and just two pins shy of the MAC Conference leader, Ella Schoen, from Fort Recovery. Her high individual game this winter has been a 235.
And yes, by every standard she is a ‘great kid’, exhibiting high ideals and good priorities when you ask her about her past, present, and future.
And judging from her Versailles High School grade point average, she’s pretty good at everything she does. She’s a 4.0. That says a lot about your options after high school.
Francis currently is second in the MAC with an average of 185, and has a high game of 235 this season.
But for the present, she bowls for Tyler Phlipot, currently second in the MAC standings (behind Fort Recovery), and loves to share about how she got started.
“When I was in the first grade,” she says. “My dad (‘Buff’) got me started. They had a ‘Little League’ for bowlers at McBo’s (in Versailles) and I would go there with him on Saturday.
“His actual name is Jim,” she says for the sake of proper identity. “But everyone in Versailles knows him as ‘Buff”. He’s had that nickname forever.”
It’s easy, at her age, to take opportunity for granted. Sports for many is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. But Danielle Francis can list the reasons why it’s important to her.
“For one, it’s a chance to bond with the other girls,” she shares. “And bowling is a comfort for me…something that allows me to relax. Just bowl the best you can and leave your anxieties behind.
“And, it’s just fun. I really love the sport. I play golf, but bowling is different because I know the lanes and it comes more naturally to me. Golf is a sport to have fun with in the summer, but [competitively] bowling is more my life.”
She’s not alone in her passion for the sport. Nor is she alone with her appreciation for being respected alongside girls (and boys) who play other sports.
“Yeah, I don’t now that many girls who play basketball. I know Taylor Wagner is good at our school. But I think that girls who are good at bowling are as competitive as those in other sports. I think it’s a matter of having passion for what you do. If you love what you do you put your best foot forward. I think that makes everyone comparable.”
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She graduates in the spring and is quick to share with you her passion for what comes next.
“I want to go into nursing,” says Francis. “I’m going to Capital University to get my nursing degree.”
And no problems with math and science.
“I have a 4.0, and math is my favorite subject. Mr. Niekamp (Greg) is my math teacher. I love it.”
And Tyler Phlipot…as her bowling coach?
“Great coach. Very supportive. Cares about everyone on the team. I appreciate what he does.”
Will she be bowling in college, at Capital?
“Maybe. If the opportunity comes I won’t say no. But…yeah!”
Capital became the fourth OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference) school in January of 2024 to add bowling and will compete within the Ohio Bowling Conference along with schools like Muskingum, Shawnee State, Wright State…and Ohio State. Lance Gordon is the bowling coach at Capital, and it’s hard to imagine…….
How he could meet Danielle Francis and not offer her that opportunity.
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Another Bowling Note: Press Pros congratulates Versailles PBA pro Michael Davidon, who this past week finished fourth in the Delaware Classic tournament, televised locally on Fox Sports.
Davidson made history last Tuesday, January 22, by breaking the 12-game PBA scoring record, one of the pillar marks on the PBA tour.
Davidson bowled a 3,086, which is a 257.17 average in the 12-game block, surpassing the previous record, 3,083, set by left-handed PBA Hall of Famer Mike Aulby in 1996.
Aulby’s record had stood for 30 years.
“I didn’t even know that I broke the record until the next morning,” he said afterwards. “But I did know who Mike Aulby was. He’s a legend.
“But the biggest thing was to bowl well and see all the hard work pay off. Obviously that’s what we practice for, and the experience was awesome. It’s a big confidence boost going into the US Open.
Another local bowler, Graham Fach, from Urbana, won the Deleware Classic, beating Jakob Butturff for the title. It was Fach’s second PBA national title, and his first in a decade.
On behalf of sponsor, the St. Henry Bank, Press Pros is happy to recognize this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree, Danielle Francis, from Versailles High School.