League to Sponsor Bowling, Offer Championship
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Heart of America Athletic Conference has announced that starting this year it will sponsor men’s and women’s bowling, including having a national-qualifying tournament at the end of the season.
A total of six Heart institutions sponsor men’s and women’s bowling, including WPU, Baker, Clarke, Culver-Stockton, Grand View, and Mount Mercy.
The Heart Championships are set for March 2-3, 2019 and will be hosted by Baker in Topeka, Kan. The format of the event will include 24 Baker games on the opening day, which will determine seeding for the final day. The second day will be best-of-seven match-play games in a double-elimination bracket competition.
The winner of the double-elimination tourney will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA National Invitational Championships on March 28-30, 2019. WPU’s men placed fourth at last year’s Invitational, while the women also qualified and finished 16th.
The Statesmen have had great success in prior conference tournaments, dating back to their days in the old Midwest Collegiate Conference. The men (2011, 2014) and women (2011, 2012) have both won two crowns.
“This is an exciting development for our conference and our member-institutions that sponsor the growing sport of collegiate bowling,” William Penn Athletics Director and Heart Bowling Liaison Nik Rule said. “The bowling coaches in the conference felt strongly for the need to have it as a championship sport and they all worked together to provide the vision and structure that will set it up for success.”
William Penn continues its 2018-2019 campaign Saturday and Sunday by traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. to compete in the Columbia 300 Western Shootout.