FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2017

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

Shockers Kick-Off Season at Home

WICHITA, Kan. – In their home opener and season opener, the Shocks will compete in the longest running collegiate tournament, the Mid States Championships, this weekend. On October 14 and 15, the men will compete at Nothrock Lanes and the women will compete at West Acres Bowl.

$5 will get fans access to both tournaments, for the entire weekend. On Saturday, the men and women will bowl six team games, beginning at 1:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m., respectively. All teams return on Sunday to bowl twenty Baker games, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The field is then cut to the top eight teams for a single elimination, best-two-of-three, Baker bracket. Match play is expected to begin at 12:15 p.m. for the men and 12:45 p.m. for the women.

Last year, the Shocker men came up just short, finishing second while the women finished third.

Six Shocker men return to the selected team and six men are new. The men are led by senior Thomas Peters (Belleville, Ill.) and Wesley Low, a junior from Palmdale, Calif. They are joined by returning juniors Enzo Hernandez (Philippines) and Doug Wagner (Moorhead, Minn.) and returning sophomores Bradley Crouse (Nazareth, Penn.) and Jerod Hromek (Towanda, Kan.).

New to the selected team are former developmental team players Joe Grondin (San Pedro, Calif.), Jacob Kersten (Clarkston, Mich.) and Brandon Martin (Derby, Kan.).

“The purpose of the developmental team is to train athletes to make the jump to the selected team,” head coach Gordon Vadakin said. “Joe, Jacob and Brandon really took the resources given to them, worked incredibly hard and made the jump. It is always so exciting to see players work hard and get better.”

The Shocker men also brought in three freshmen, all members of Junior Team USA 2017, Briley Haugh (Faribault, Minn.), Tommie McNeal (Pullayup, Ore.) and Cortez Schenck (Phoenix, Ariz.).

The men’s developmental team feature both new and old faces. Jonathan Bowman (Peru, N.Y.), Josh Brown (O’Fallon, Ill.), Ryan Kendall (Pelham, Ala.), Alex Lankford (Moon Township, Penn.), Aaron Major (Brockton, Mass.), Lucas Pejakovich (Godfrey, Ill.), Josh Roca (Garden City Park, N.Y.), and Colton Ruscetti (Trinidad, Colo.) all return for another year. New to the team are Connor Egan (Long Island, N.Y.), Ben Hardin (Tampa, Fla.) and Sean Sadat (Houston, Texas).

On the women’s side, seven ladies returned from last year’s teams. Seniors Sydney Brummett (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Hollyann Johansen (Wichita, Kan.) are joined by returning juniors Sierra Kanemoto (Dayton, Ohio), Estefania Cobo (Trujilo Alto, Puerto Rico), Kayla Ovesny (Norman, Okla.) and Brooke Woodard and returning sophomore Kaitlyn Rudy (Buffalo Grove, Ill.). Meghan Beehler, a sophomore from Bella Vista, Ark., made the jump to the selected team after spending last year on the developmental team. Freshmen Sierra Ciesiolka (Harker Heights, Texas) and Ana Morales (Guatemala) made the selected team for the first time.

Six women make up the women’s developmental team: Victoria Askin (Kenai, Alaska), Natalie Dutton (Jenks, Okla.), Cassie Edgar (Wichita, Kan.), Jennifer Kiss (Tallmadge, Ohio), Sarah Moon (Winston, Ore.) and Shelby Snyder (Spokane, Wash.).

“This time of year is always exciting. Tryouts were great and I’m excited to watch these teams see how good they can get. I’ve been anxious to get this season started,” assistant coach Mark Lewis 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.