Late Rally Nets Nationals Berth for Statesmen
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Dallas, Texas–It took all 64 games for the William Penn women’s bowling team to solidify its bid to nationals as it competed at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Sectionals Saturday and Sunday.
The Statesmen finished fourth out of 13 teams with 12,065 pins in 64 Baker games. Their top-four finish gives the navy and gold a spot in the national tournament field, their third trip to the final site in program history and the second straight.
Joining WPU will be sectional champion McKendree (Ill.) (12,913 pins) as well as Alabama-Birmingham and Wichita State (Kan.).
Down six pins to Newman (Kan.) entering the final two rounds, William Penn closed the gap to one with a 169 (Newman had a 164). The Statesmen then finished inside the top four with a 217 in the final game, while Newman posted a 206.
WPU played from behind most of the tournament. After 16 games, the Statesmen were sixth, while after 32 rounds, they were fifth, but just 13 pins out of a qualifying position. The gap actually widened during the third block, but the navy and gold were able to make up the difference with 3,046 pins in the final block, 71 better than Newman.
William Penn now qualifies for the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships from April 15-20 in Dayton, Ohio. Only 16 teams–four from each of the four sectionals–make the final site. The Statesmen will be seeking their first-ever win at nationals, having gone 0-2 in their first two appearances.
Team members included Nicole Craft (Jr., Wakefield, Neb., Physical Education), Abbey Fangman (So., Waterloo, Iowa, Elementary Education), Kaylee Gerken (Sr., Dubuque, Iowa, Elementary Education), Kayla Gifford (Jr., Camanche, Iowa, Biology), Jaelynn Klein (Fr., Muscatine, Iowa, Communications), Jade Klinefelter (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Nicole Mottier (So., Madison, Wis., Computer Science), Amber Ovel (Sr., Waterloo, Iowa, Psychology), and Bailey Palmer (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Biology).
“The women fought hard in a stacked field,” Head Coach Brandon Brooks said. “Even though we were technically the #4 seed for this tournament, NCAA schools on the women’s side who travel different teams to USBC tournaments for the majority of the season had deflated rankings. We did not let it hold us back and showed we are one of the top teams in the nation by pulling together, stepping up when called on, and being clutch in the final game.”
“Our team represented William Penn with class,” Brooks added. “We did not forget about showing great sportsmanship to teams who qualified and those who did not. Qualifying is awesome, but the way our team did it–with class–is really something to be proud of.”
The ITC Sectional Singles six-game event was also held Friday, but unfortunately none of the William Penn bowlers were able to qualify for nationals.
In a field that consisted of 135 rollers, Craft paced the Statesmen in 22nd place with 1,167 pins in six games. The top four individuals (the final spot was secured with 1,262 pins) qualified for singles nationals next month.
Palmer was next with 1,121 pins, while Klein had 1,113 pins. Gerken (1,100), Gifford (1,067), Fangman (1,061), Ovel (1,051), Klinefelter (1,004), and Mottier (990) also competed.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Topeka, Kan. March 28-30 to compete in the NAIA Invitational.
