Bowling teams seasons end in Witchita at ITC national tourney
0By Katelyn Simpson
The men’s and women’s bowling teams were in Wichita, Kan., April 15-18 competing in the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC). Although both teams came up short, there were many positives to take away from the trip.
At the awards banquet Friday, April 15, juniors Shelby Fromm and Fallon Tallman were named to the honorable mention All-American team. Senior Brianna Larson was named a second team All-American and also honorable mention player of the year for the International Bowling Media Association (IBMA). Junior Katelyn Simpson was named a first team All-American and runner up player of the year for the IBMA. Also, after the tournament was over, Simpson was named to the tournament’s all-tournament team. Lastly, Head Coach Ron Damron won his fourth ITC coach of the year award and his third coach of the year award just this year as he won Mid-South Conference coach of the year and NAIA coach of the year.
As for the tournament, the women qualified fourth after 24 games of qualifying, and the men qualified thirteenth.
In the first round of competition, the women had little difficulty defeating Bowling Green State University (4-1). It was more challenging in the next round when they women faced Grand View University. The Bears were able to pull out a 4-3 win after a tough match where neither team was able to win on the left lane. The Bears ran into trouble after that, losing the next match to Robert Morris University, 4-,3 and eventually dropping out of the tournament losing to Wichita State, 4.5-1.5, in the next round.
Although the men put up a fight, their journey ended earlier than what they hoped. In the first round, they faced McKendree University and after a tough battle, fell (4-3). In the next round, after an early lead, it looked as if the Bears would advance, but after a few rough games from the Bears, their time at nationals closed. The Bears lost their final match to Purdue University (4-3).
“Competing at Nationals as a senior was a totally different experience than the past three years because you know it is your last shot to win a national championship. It brings a lot more emotions and passion to the game. No, we didn’t win, but looking back on the experience, we did the best we possibly could, and I had the best senior year because of the teammates I was able to share it with,” said Larson.