Men's bowling finished fourth while the ladies took fifth at the Mid-South Conference (MSC) Thomas Burris Memorial Tournament January 21 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The one-day Sunday event included five team games and 12 baker games and the Lions did not get off to a great start, finding themselves in 12^th place after game-one, over 250 pins behind the leader, however the rest of the day was much better. Lindenwood followed with games of 1025, 1131, 1045, and 1025 to slowly climb the leaderboard. With a team-game total of 5147 (205.88 average), the Lions sat in sixth place, just 66 pins from third place St. Francis (Ill.) University and only 178 pins from first place Pikeville.

Lindenwood was still well within striking distance, but faltered a bit in the opening baker set with a four-game total of just 730, which dropped the team to seventh, however it was only temporary. The Lions followed with a set of 862, including a 245 game, and that pushed them up to fifth. The final set did not start well, but Lindenwood fired games of 226 and 256 down the stretch and that literally was worth several positions in the final standings. With a baker total of 2390 (199.17 average), the third highest in the field, the Lions finished with an overall total of 7537 to take fourth, just 28 pins behind Pikeville in third and just 30-pins behind Tennessee Wesleyan in second. Webber International claimed the tournament title by over 300 pins.

In the women's division, the Lady Lions just couldn't duplicate the success of the previous day, but still managed to grind through tougher conditions. Despite shooting just 866 out of the gate, Lindenwood still sat in sixth place out of 17 teams after game one. After posting 918 in game two, the Lady Lions were fourth, but started to slip down the standings even after 931 in game three. They followed with 895 and 945 for a team total of 4555, but fell to sixth place, only nine pins behind St. Francis (Ill.) University in fifth, 55-pins behind Milligan University in fourth, and 74 pins behind the University of the Cumberlands in third.

The beginning of baker competition was not kind to Lindenwood as the team didn't break 160 in the first three games of the opening set, but a change in strategy and equipment pointed the Lady Lions in the right direction and they shot 191 or greater seven of the final nine games. Sets of 765 and 746 completed the day for Lindenwood. With a baker total of 2167 (180.58 average) and a grand total of 6722, the Lady Lions secured fifth place, finishing 160 pins behind St. Francis in fourth and 178 pins behind the Cumberlands in third. The University of Pikeville ran away from the rest of the field by over 400 pins to claim the title.

Individually, five Lions finished in the top 50 of the field of 223 bowlers, led by Nathan Bassford in seventh place with a five-game total of 1090 (218 average) including high games of 251 and 256, just missing the All-Tournament Team by nine. Luke Batchelor took 14^th place with 1064 (212.8 average) including a high game of 250. Juan Pablo Aguirre was 41^st with 978 (195.6 average), Rolando Ng took 44^th with 973 (194.6 average), and Zach Wentzel finished 49^th with 963 (192.6 average). Blake Reiger averaged 211.75 for four games to help the Lindenwood cause.

In the women's field of 139, Liz Rittenour led the Lady Lions with 964 (192.8 average) for 12^th place, Carissa Merkle finished 19^th with 938 (187.6 average), and Haylie Frick took 29^th with 917 (183.4 average).

After a weekend off, men's and women's bowling return to action for the McK Baker Challenge February 3-4 in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and the regular season wraps up at the Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis February 10-11.