FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2016

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

WICHITA, KAN. – For the third time in a row, the Lady Shox took home the ISBPA title in Addison, Ill. over the weekend. The Shocker men finished fifth.

It was a grind of a first day as the Lady Shox rolled steady games of 999, 1001, 1048, 965 and 1001 for a 1003 average on the day. After both squads were complete the Shocker women were sitting on the top of the leaderboard.

“We really had to grind the first day. We always had at least one person lined up each game, but we struggled to follow the changes in the lanes. Lane to lane was pretty difficult too,” sophomore Sydney Brummett (Fort Wayne, Ind.) said.

Over the course of 20 Baker games, the ladies got over the 210 mark ten times and averaged 203 for the day. Again on top of the leaderboard, the Lady Shox left for Wichita and had to wait until the second squad was over to find out if they had won the tournament. Final scores rolled in around 10:00 p.m. and the ladies had kept their lead, successfully defending their title from last year.

“Our Baker games were much smoother than the day before. We found the shape we needed early, followed transition better and never really fell behind the move. There were a few bumps in the road, however we worked through those fairly quickly. We made sure our focus was on throwing quality shots and being there for our teammates. It seemed to work out in our favor,” Brummett added.

The Shocker men got off to quite a slow start, bowling 892 and 962 the first two games and found themselves in 16th place. After an alignment and ball change, the men seemed to figure it out and fought their way all the way up to seventh with games of 1079, 1051 and 1030.

“We started pretty far left for it being the fresh and it turns out we had to start even further left than we had thought. The angles that were necessary aren't something we usually see on the fresh and it tricked us. Once we opened up our angles and got in the right balls, it was pretty smooth from that point forward,” junior Justin Zwaschka (St. Joe, Mo.) said.

Like the women, the Baker games went better for them as they averaged 201 and jumped up a spot, finishing the tournament in sixth place.

“Using what we learned from day one, we tried to do something different to begin the Baker games. The lanes definitely didn't play the same and it was sort of a struggle to find something that worked. We definitely have things to work on when we get back to school,” senior Stephen Cowland (Blackbutt, Australia) said. “It’s the first week of classes so we will have a few meetings and we also lose a day due to the holiday. The week is going to fly by, so it’s definitely a case of quality over quantity. We will use our team practice time wisely and put some time in outside of team practice to make sure the McKendree Baker tournament goes better.”

The Shox have a very short week before hitting the road again. McKendree Baker is up next in Fairview Heights, Ill. This tournament is unique in that it is an all Baker game tournament.

“Baker games definitely seem to be one of our stronger suits, so an all Baker format is something we look forward to. It will be a great way to prepare for Sectionals and Nationals, since they are all Baker formats as well. Our team play and communication skills are among our strengths and Baker games require practicing those at a high level to be successful. We are looking forward to what will hopefully be a successful tournament,” Cowland said.

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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.