Men's bowling finished fourth to punch a ticket to the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC), but the ladies fell short of advancing with a sixth-place finish at Sectionals March 9-10 in Fort Worth, Texas. Two Lady Lions and a Lion also claimed spots at the Intercollegiate Singles Championship (ISC) March 8.

In what proved to be a high scoring environment, the Lions started the two-day, 64-game marathon with a solid morning block on Saturday, although it was full of ups and downs. Lindenwood broke the 200 mark in eight of the 16 games, including highs of 257, 256, and 249, but also had some games under the 170 mark. After an opening set of 733, the Lions followed with 878, and back-to-back 815's for a total of 3241 (202.56 average), good enough for fifth place in the field of 21 teams, just a pin out of the top-four cut and 128 behind Iowa Western Community College in first.

The afternoon block for Lindenwood was very similar in total score, but it was once again a rollercoaster to get there. The Lions posted nine 200+ games, including highs of 257 and 256. Sets of 918, 755, 818, and 794 added another 3285 (205.31 average) for a day-one grand total of 6526. That moved Lindenwood up to second place, 58 pins ahead of Iowa Western in third and 137 ahead of Ottawa (Kan.) in fifth. Wichita State averaged over 216 on the day to launch into the lead by 400 pins.

In the morning block on Sunday, the Lions almost exactly duplicated their performance from Saturday morning, but it was a much steadier attack, with every game ranging from 172 to 233. Sets of 787, 822, 829, and 801 added 3239 (202.44 average) for a grand total of 9765. Lindenwood still sat in second place, but two teams charged into the top four. St. Ambrose was only 27 pins behind in third with Grand Canyon University 149 behind in fourth. The Lions built a 234-pin cushion over fifth place California State - Fresno, but the final block Sunday afternoon was full of drama.

Lindenwood continued its consistent scoring pace, but other teams surged forward. Grand Canyon surpassed the Lions midway through the block and after finishing the first day in 11^th place, Newman charged towards the cut line, threatening to overtake Lindenwood or St. Ambrose for the final advancer spot. After sets of 856, 799, and 852, the Lions were still in third place, but the Bees were only 57-pins behind in fourth, and the Jets were just 146 back in fifth with four games to go.

Needing a strong start to the final set, Lindenwood promptly opened in four of the first five frames and shot 157, the low game of the entire weekend for the Lions. They righted the ship temporarily with 203, but followed with a 174. That allowed St. Ambrose to surpass Lindenwood by 28, and with Newman firing 268, the Jets were only 21 behind, so three teams were fighting for two spots.

The Lions started their final game with three strikes in a row, but a split in the fifth frame, slowed momentum. As the final frames were thrown, a key double in the ninth and 10^th frames solidified fourth place for Lindenwood. With a block total of 3256 (203.5 average), and a grand total of 13,021 (203.45 average), the Lions finished just eight pins behind St. Ambrose in third and just 38-pins ahead of Newman in fifth.

Wichita State won the Fort Worth Sectional with Grand Canyon claiming second place. The Lindenwood men's roster included: Juan Pablo Aguirre, Mike Anderson, Nathan Bassford, Luke Batchelor, Emmanuel McPherson, Graham Mortimore, Javier Muniz Vega, and Blake Reiger. Former Lion Drew Sacks volunteered as coach for the weekend in place of men's coach Randy Lightfoot, who was unable to attend due to a medical issue.
 
Calumet College of St. Joseph, Muskingum University, Lawrence Tech, and Pikeville advanced to the ITC out of the Allen Park, Michigan Sectional; Wisconsin – Whitewater, Mount Mercy, McKendree, and Midland advanced from the Addison, Illinois Sectional; and Webber International, Marian University (Ind.), Indiana Tech, and SCAD – Savannah advanced from the Smyrna, Tennessee Sectional. The ITC takes place April 18-20 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Women's Bowling Misses Cut
In the women's field of 16, the Lady Lions had a Saturday morning block with some high games including 247, 235, and 229, but seven of the 16 games were below 170. With sets of 715, 739, 744, and 804, Lindenwood totaled 3002 (187.63 average), a respectable score, but only good enough for seventh place, 61 pins behind Tulane in fourth.

The scoring pace increased dramatically in the afternoon block and while the Lady Lions once again posted a respectable total, they lost some major ground to the cut line. With back-to-back sets of 775, followed by 794 and 717, Lindenwood totaled 3061 (191.31 average) for the block. With a grand total of 6063, the Lady Lions had dropped to eighth place, 267-pins behind Oklahoma Christian in fourth.

Needing a good morning block on Sunday to get back within striking distance of the cut line, Lindenwood had a promising start with a 214 game, but things went downhill from there as the Lady Lions only managed 707 out of the set. The struggles continued in the next set with Lindenwood failing to break 700. There was a glimmer of hope towards the end of the third set as the Lady Lions finished with 244 and 212 for 793, but the final four games of the morning resulted in the lowest set of the weekend. With a block total of 2823, Lindenwood had a total of 8886 and had dropped all the way to ninth place, almost 500 pins away from fourth place and an advancer spot.

Despite the challenging situation, the Lady Lions continued to battle and ultimately finished strongly, breaking the 200 mark 11 out of the final 16 games. After posting 822 in the opening set, they backed it up with games of 245, 212, and 217 to finish with 853, their highest set of the weekend. With 793 and 792 down the stretch, Lindenwood finished with 3260 (203.75 average) for the block and a grand total of 12,146 (189.78 average). While it wasn't enough to advance, the Lady Lions did make up almost 200 pins to the cut and climbed three spots up to sixth place. Louisiana Tech won the Sectional, followed by Wichita State. Tulane and Oklahoma Christian tied for third, 304 pins ahead of Lindenwood, which was represented by Hailey Bozych, Karsyn Braasch, Haylie Frick, Carissa Merkle, Maddie Millsaps, Liz Rittenour, Samantha Smith, and Sophie Tottleben.

Three Advance to Intercollege Singles Championship (ISC)
Prior to the team Sectionals, multiple Lindenwood players competed in the Intercollegiate Singles Sectional on Friday and three advanced to the Intercollegiate Singles Championship.

The men bowled first in a six-game block with the top six in the field of 203 advancing to the ISC. In a very high scoring environment, senior Javier Muniz Vega fired games of 243, 227, 245, 225, and 268 to put himself in contention. A final game of 209 was enough to total 1417 (236.17 average) and claim fifth place.

Other Lions made a run at advancement, but settled for solid finishes. Nathan Bassford began the day with 278 and 235 on the way to a total of 1343 (223.83 average) to finish 14^th. Emmanuel McPherson totaled 1302 (217 average) for 32^nd place, and Kaden Lansford took 57^th place with 1245 (207.5 average), including a high game of 278. Mason Foley (1220 total-203.33 average) took 64^th, Michael Anderson (1218 total-203 average) tied for 65^th, and Callum Stewart (1214 total-202.33 average) finished 70^th.

Two Lady Lions advanced to the ISC out of a women's field of 140 bowlers in Fort Worth. Hailey Bozych took second place with a six-game total of 1339 (223.17 average) including high games of 250, 236, 228, and 223. Samantha Smith claimed the final advancer spot by finishing fifth with a total of 1306 (217.67 average) including high games of 278 and 238.

Several other Lindenwood players performed well, but did not advance. After appearing at the ISC last season, Karsyn Braasch took 22^nd place in Fort Worth with a total of 1238 (206.33 average), including high games of 262 and 224. Haylie Frick was just a few places behind in 28^th with 1219 (203.17 average) and Liz Rittenour finished 37^th with 1202 (200.33 average).

NCBCA Scholar Athletes Recognized
Prior to the start of the final block of team Sectionals on Sunday, the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) recognized its list of Scholar Athletes, those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 as of the start of the spring semester. There were 15 different Lindenwood bowlers that received the honor and received a certificate of recognition including:  Hailey Bozych, Jacob Horton, Kaden Lansford, Paige Ludington, Zachary Ludwig, Emmanuel McPherson, Carissa Merkle, Maddie Millsaps, Eli Northcutt, Hunter Pirtle, Lexi Schweiss, Julia Smith, Samantha Smith, Callum Stewart, and James Zugmaier.