Both the men's and women's bowling teams advanced to the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) and Mike Anderson and Karsyn Braasch advanced individually to the Intercollege Singles Championships (ISC) March 10-12 at the Dallas, Texas Sectional, one of four that occurred simultaneously across the country. The other three locations included Addison, Illinois; Smyrna, Tennessee; and Dayton, Ohio.

The Lions entered competition as the 27^th team nationally in the season long power rankings and seventh seed in Dallas out of 20 squads there, but jumped into the lead from the opening set, firing 13 of their first 16 baker games above 200 on Saturday morning, including highs of 267, 259, and 255. At the conclusion of the first 16-game block, Lindenwood totaled 3,501 (218.81 average) to lead second place Wichita State by 77 pins. More importantly, the Lions had also already opened up a 305-pin margin over the top four "cut-line" for advancement.

Lindenwood continued its strong performance during the Saturday afternoon block with another 11 games in the 200's, including highs of 256, 247, and 245. At the conclusion of the day and midway point of competition, the Lions still held a 31-pin lead over the No. 1 ranked Shockers with an overall total of 6,930 (216.56 average). They had also built a 427-pin margin over third place Ottawa (Kan.) and 547-pin lead over the cut-line, essentially making it a two-team race for the Sectional title on Sunday.

Lindenwood bowled well in the third block of the weekend, firing 12 more games above the 200 mark, including top scores of 244 and 236 in back-to-back fashion, but Wichita State was 90-pins better on Sunday morning and took a 59-pin lead over the Lions with a block total of 3,372 and overall total of 10,271. With advancement clearly in sight for both squads, the focus turned to winning the event.

Lindenwood was ready for the afternoon block and started with one of its highest baker sets of the weekend with games of 266, 203, 203, and 279 for 951. Wichita State kept pace and maintained a two-pin advantage. Both teams traded places in the standings multiple times the rest of the day. As all teams were seeded for the final position round baker set, the Shockers led by 20 and faced the Lions on the same pair of lanes. Lindenwood bowled games of 192, 216, and 239, but Wichita State shot 198, 237, and 246 to open up a 54-pin margin with a single game remaining.

The Lions saved one of their best games for last as they fired 247 while the Shockers managed 188 with both anchors doubling in the final frame. The end result was a grand total of 13,730 (214.53 average) for Lindenwood and a five-pin margin over Wichita State in second place. The Lions squad of Juan Pablo Aguirre, Mike Anderson, Garrett Jolly, Emmanuel McPherson, Javier Muniz Vega, Troy Owens, Jr., Blake Reiger, and Drew Sacks finished 739-pins ahead of third place Midland, 891-pins ahead of fourth place Ottawa (Kan.), the final advancing team from Dallas, and 934-pins ahead of the "cut-line."

The Lady Lions advancement to nationals was a bit more dramatic. Coming into the tournament as the 21^st team in the national power rankings and seventh seed in Dallas, they started a bit slowly and sat in 11^th place out of 13 teams after their opening baker set Saturday morning, but executed a steady climb up the standings the rest of the block. After the first 16 games, Lindenwood totaled 2,816 (176 average) in a very low scoring environment. That was good enough for sixth place, just 87-pins behind fourth place Wichita State for the final advancer spot, and 177-pins behind then leader Wisconsin – Whitewater.

Lindenwood heated up from there to post the second-best block of Saturday afternoon with 3,067 (191.69 average) including high games of 247, 218, and 210 and a high set of 842. With a grand total of 5,883 (183.84 average), the Lady Lions had moved into the cut in third place, just 119 pins behind Stephen F. Austin State University in first and 93-pins behind the second place Shockers, but the standings were close. Lindenwood only led fourth place William Penn by 13-pins, fifth place Wisconsin – Whitewater by 32, and sixth place Newman University by 58.

The Lions had a better start to the morning block on Sunday and while they weren't shooting too many high scores, they were keeping a pace to maintain their position until some controversy over an "out of range" pin and "dead wood" developed during the third set of the day. The impending delay zapped a bit of momentum and Lindenwood finished with its worst five-game stretch of the whole weekend. With a 48-game total of 8,681 (180.85 average), the Lady Lions had slipped to fifth place, but only four pins behind the third place Jets and just a single pin behind the Statesmen in fourth. The Warhawks were only 54-pins behind Lindenwood in sixth and Midland had crept to within striking distance, just 196-pins back in seventh with 16 games to go. Both the Shockers and Lady Jacks had built some separation from the rest of the field in the top two spots.

With the number of games dwindling, the Lady Lions slowly returned to form in the final block Sunday afternoon. After a set of 703 to start, Lindenwood put together games of 188, 190, 203, and 201 for a set of 782 to move back to third. The Lady Lions stumbled a bit in the third set of the block, but so did many other teams. Heading into the final position round set, they sat in fourth, the final advancing spot, just three pins behind Newman in third, 106-pins ahead of Wisconsin – Whitewater in fifth, and 139-pins ahead of William Penn in sixth.

Bowling on the same pair as the Jets, Lindenwood essentially saved its best of Sunday for the final four games. The Lady Lions surged forward with games of 201 and 188, then followed with

their high of the day at 220 and finished with 176 for a set of 785. The end result was the second-best block of the afternoon at 2,967 (185.44 average). That pushed Lindenwood into third place and advancement to nationals with a grand total of 11,648 (182 average). The squad of Hailey Bozych, Karsyn Braasch, Haylie Frick, Renata Martinez, Carissa Merkle, Liz Rittenour, Maddie San Soucie, and Samantha Smith finished 98-pins ahead of the fourth place Warhawks, the final advancing team, 162-pins ahead of the Jets in fifth, and 230-pins ahead of William Penn in sixth. Wichita State claimed the Sectional title with Stephen F. Austin taking second.

The ITC will take place in Las Vegas April 20-22 and will feature the final 16 men's teams and final 16 women's teams vying for a national championship.


Intercollegiate Singles Sectional
The Singles Sectional took place on March 10 at the same four regional locations with Mike Anderson advancing in the men's division and Karsyn Braasch advancing in the women's division.

Anderson bowled a six-game total of 1,322 (220.33 average) including high games of 243 and 234 to finish fourth in the Dallas field of 177 players. The

top five advanced to the ISC which will take place in Las Vegas April 18-19. Several other Lions had good performances, but did not advance including Drew Sacks in a tie for 17^th place with 1,232 (205.33 average), Troy Owens, Jr., in 30^th with 1,186 (197.67 average), Emmanuel McPherson in 41^st with 1,165 (194.17 average), and Garrett Jolly in 42^nd with 1,163 (193.83 average).

In the women's division, Braasch totaled 1,174 (195.67 average) including high games of 230 and 221 to tie for fourth place in the field of 133 players and advance. Renata Martinez finished in 27^th with a total of 1,112 (185.33 average) including a high game of 241.

A total of 24 men and 24 women advanced to the ISC from the four Sectional locations across the country.







Complete Lists of Team Advancing to the ITC

Dallas, Texas
Men
1. Lindenwood University
2. Wichita State
3. Midland
4. Ottawa (Kan.)

Women
1. Wichita State
2. Stephen F. Austin State University
3. Lindenwood University
4. Wisconsin – Whitewater

Dayton, Ohio
Men
1. William Patterson
2. Purdue University
3. Trine University
4. Pikeville

Women
1. North Carolina A & T
2. SCAD – Savannah
3. Duquesne University
4. Pikeville

Addison, Illinois
Men
1. Webber International
2. Mount Mercy University
3. Saint Xavier University
4. Lawrence Tech

Women
1. Webber International
2. Mount Mercy University
3. Louisiana Tech
4. Maryville University

Smyrna, Tennessee
Men
1. Wisconsin – Whitewater
2. St. Ambrose University
3. Tennessee Southern
4. St. Francis (Ill.)

Women
1. McKendree University
2. Maryland – Eastern Shore
3. St. Francis (Ill.)
4. Tennessee Southern