Men’s Team Takes Second at McKendree
Fairview Heights, Ill. — The William Penn University men’s bowling team had another strong outing as they competed at the McKendree Baker Challenge. The team just snuck into the knockout rounds but made the plays when they mattered. Reaching the final match, the team ended up losing to Webber International (Fla.) but took home their third runner-up trophy of the season.
It was certainly a struggle for the team as they played the nine baker sets. The lane pattern made the entire field struggle, but William Penn battled through it and earned an eighth-place finish after the last set on Sunday.
Being the bottom seed for knockout play, the team had to step up against Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.), who were the top seed. William Penn left nothing to chance as they played two good sets, beating SCAD 222-202 and 232-224 to advance. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) was the next opponent for the Statesmen, as they had knocked off Wichita State in three games to move on. WPU won the first set 229-191 but fell in the second 211-204. The third and final set between the two was perhaps the roughest, but the Statesmen again connected when they needed to and won 188-147.
That pushed them into the final where Webber awaited. They had defeated Lindenwood (Mo.) and hosts Mckendree to get to the final. The navy and gold left it all on the lane but fell in two straight games 223-195 and 211-191.
The Statesmen team was represented by Logan Mason (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management), Aleksander Kostric (Jr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), Jayson Miner (So., Silvis, Ill., Physical Education), Rok Kostric (Jr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), Brandon Freese (Jr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Software Engineering), Albert Liggins (So., Ravanel, S.C., Exercise Science), Jake Cook (So., Keokuk, Iowa, Physical Education), and Austin Czerwinski (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education).
“The entire field took a hit with the lane patterns and spares were a premium” said stutent assistant Nick Walker. “The guys were able to make it into match play and turned on the after burners and began to really execute. They nailed their shots and filled up some frames.”
Next Up: The Hoosier Classic will be the next event for the squad as they will travel to Indianapolis Feb. 15-16.
