FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2015

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

WICHITA, Kan. – The Shocker Bowling team came home from the Jayhawk Classic with a pair of third place finishes from the men’s and women’s varsity teams. The men’s and women’s JV teams also brought home a pair of runner-up finishes.

Saturday began with six traditional team games on a pretty tricky Kegel Alcatraz pattern. Both teams handled the pattern well as the ladies averaged 193.7 over the six games to take the lead by 400 pins over Midland; the men averaged 197.5 and were in second by 40 pins.

All teams returned Sunday morning to bowl 16 baker games. It was a rough start for the Shocker men as they started with 145, 160 the first two games, however they got it together and managed to earn the number one seed for the elimination bracket. The Lady Shox continued to lead and also earned the number one seed.

The men began match play first and bowled the eighth seed University of Central Missouri. It was a quick match as the men won 214-166 and 211-175. The second match was a little more interesting with Hastings University. The men tied game one as senior Tyler Cruz (Tacoma, Wash.) struck on his fill ball. In game two the men forced Hastings to double in the tenth and their anchor did just that. Game three the Shockers worked well together and came out on top to even the match at 1.5 to 1.5. Game four went all the way to the tenth frame. WSU forced Hastings to double in the tenth again, and again they did just that to win the match.

“This was a good weekend for the guys. We got some quality match play reps in and we were put under some pressure. This is great for early in the season,” Cruz said. “With only two practices this week, we will stress being in the moment and not allowing the moment to control us.”

Since the women’s field was only cut to the top four teams, the Shocker women bowled the number four seed, host Baker University. The ladies won the first game 166-161 but Baker tied the match up winning the second game 156-187. The last game was better than the first two but it just wasn't enough, as Baker strung strikes together on their way to a 206-257 win over Wichita State.

“It was an interesting weekend because the pattern was the toughest we have seen this year. Our team play skills helped us make it simpler and made it easier to work with, but it was still tricky,” sophomore Sydney Brummett (Fort Wayne, Ind.) said. “With only two practices before Leatherneck this weekend, our plan for the week is to shoot a lot of spares and sharpen our tricks.”

In the JV division, the ladies were the top seed and also bowled Baker in round one. It was a quick match and the Lady Shox won 2-0 (168-144, 207-177). In the finals, Midland won the match 3-1 (138-171, 190-180, 173-236, 164-184) and finished in second place. The JV men were the second seed and bowled Walforf College in the first match. The Shocker men swept Waldorf in two games, 154-148 and 178-148. In the finals against Midland the men lost 3-1 (170-173, 178-190, 164-146 and 177-211).

Individually there were Shockers all over the leader boards. Senior Mitch Hupé (Winnipeg, Canada) won the men’s side and earned All-Tournament Team honors with a six game average of 215. Seniors Cruz and Stephen Cowland (Blackbutt, Australia) had great tournaments averaging 206 for five games and 200 for six games, respectively. Senior Rachel Moe (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) took top honors on the women’s side averaging 205 for six games. A trio of Shockers followed as senior Dasha Kovalova (Moscow, Russia) and sophomores Hollyann Johansen (Wichita, Kan.) and Brummett finished second, third and fourth with averages of 202, 197 and 193, respectively. All four women were named to the All-Tournament team.

After a meeting and two practices this week, the Shockers head to the Quad Cities for the Leatherneck Classic!

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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.