FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2015

CONTACT:
Gordon Vadakin
Phone (316) 978-7655
Fax (316) 978-6056
email - shocker.bowling@wichita.edu
www.wichita.edu/bowling

WICHITA, Kan. – With fall break and a day for meetings, the Shocker Bowlers had one practice before they took off for Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the Sandhills Classic. Both teams brought home second place trophies.

All teams bowled six traditional team games on the first day. On day two, all teams returned for 16 baker games. The field was then cut to the top eight men and women varsity teams and the top four men and women junior varsity teams. Rounds one and two of the single-elimination were best two-of-three and the finals were best three-of-five.

Sitting in second after day one, the Shocker men remained there and earned the number two seed in the bracket. Newman University was up first. The men dropped the first game 199-207, but came back to win the next two (193-180, 204-157) and advance to the semi-finals against Grand View University. Following suit, the men dropped the first game 214-217 but rallied back to win the next two 202-161 and 190-140.

The championship match was against the University of Kansas and went all the way to five games. WSU won the first game 213-172 and dropped the next two 189-202 and 155-170. The Shocker men tied it up with a 266-189 fourth game win. In the final game, it was the University of Kansas that pulled through, 159-191. The Shockers brought home another second place trophy.

“I thought match play went well. We made good shots and stayed close to keep us in the matches longer,” senior Tyler Cruz (Tacoma, Wash.) said. “The weekend as a whole went pretty well. We made quite a few improvements from MidStates and that is always the goal. We are coming together really well, but there is still a lot of work to be done. I am excited to see where this team is headed.”

The Lady Shockers got out to an early lead and never looked back, finishing day one 500 pins ahead of second place Grand View University. The ladies continued to lead through the baker games, earning the top seed for the match play bracket.

In round one the ladies knocked off William Penn, two games to one. It wasn't easy as the two teams traded wins early (204-160, 180-204). It all came down to the tenth frame of the third game, when senior Dasha Kovalova (Moscow, Russia) needed a mark to seal it up. She left a ten pin and spared it, giving the Lady Shox the win. The following match, with Mount Mercy, went to three games as well with the ladies coming out on top (205-170, 185-205, 236-158).

St. Ambrose occupied the other lane during the final match. The ladies lost the first game (192-211) but came back to win the second game (194-132). The ladies then lost the next two games (153-158 & 196-215) to bring home the second place trophy.

“With the short turnaround time between MidStates and Sandhills, we didn't have many practices,” sophomore Hollyann Johansen (Wichita, Kan.) said. “Monday and Tuesday were off days but most of the girls still came in to practice. We scheduled our own team practice for Friday as well. We made sure our practices were focused and quality, since we weren't going to get many shots in before Sandhills. We bowled really well this weekend. Our communication was miles ahead of last weekend and our spare shooting was pretty good. We have a lot of positive things to take away from this weekend.”

In the junior varsity division, the Shocker ladies qualified first but fell during the first round of match play to Grand View University, 1-2. The men’s JV1 team finished qualifying in fifth, narrowly missing the bracket. The JV2 team qualified second and beat Newman in the first round, 175-170 and 170-165. In the championship round, the Shocker men fell to Midland, 183-188, 166-189, 205-155 and 175-177.

Individually, the Shockers had a number of great performances. Junior Kristie López (Ponce, Puerto Rico) was the tournament leader with a six game average of 213. Sophomore Sydney Brummett (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and senior Dasha Kovalova (Moscow, Russia) weren't too far behind, finishing fourth and sixth, averaging 206 and 204, respectively. López and Brummett were named to the All-Tournament team. Laura Plazas (Bogotá, Colombia), a junior, also had a great tournament finishing with an average of 206 for four games.

Senior Stephen Cowland (Blackbutt, NSW, Australia) averaged 207 and finished fourth, earning All-Tournament Team honors. Zach Rhoades, a senior from Lafayette, Ind., also had a great tournament, finishing tenth with a 201 average.

The Shox get a weekend off before heading to Lawrence, Kan. to compete in the Jayhawk Classic November 7th and 8th.

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The Rhatigan Student Center has been the major financial and administrative supporter of the Wichita State University bowling program since 1959.