Statesmen Place in Top Five at NAIA Nationals
Sterling Heights, Mich.–The Statesmen women’s bowling team concluded its campaign with a strong showing against the NAIA’s best as it competed at the Fourth Annual NAIA National Championship Thursday and Friday.
William Penn posted a 1-2 record, eventually reaching the fifth round before being eliminated.
The Statemen started the Championship by earning the #4 seed in qualifying by scoring 4,634 pins in 24 Baker games. SCAD Savannah (Ga.) received the top seed.
Due to its top-four spot, WPU collected a first-round bye and eventually met #5 seed Saint Xavier (Ill.) in the second round. The Statesmen took care of the Cougars by a 4-2 advantage (225-189, 212-213, 170-169, 202-179, 162-190, 245-223) to garner a matchup against the top seed.
The navy and gold pulled even after four games, but eventually fell 4-2 to SCAD Savannah to be demoted to the consolation bracket. Game scores included 202-190, 191-198, 170-246, 213-192, 180-231, 154-201. SCAD Savannah is now in the championship round, awaiting its opponent in the title match.
In the consolation bracket, WPU faced off with #3 seed St. Francis (Ill.). The Round Five bout was a classic that actually required an extra round to determine a winner, but the Statesmen could not stay alive as they fell 4.5-3.5 (first seven games went 185-203, 198-179, 189-216, 234-155, 179-179, 179-163, 138-160; eighth game not available).
Unofficially, William Penn finished in a tie for fifth, its second-best finish in program history.
Team members included Kelcey Aczon (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Nursing), Gabi Evans (Sr., West Liberty, Iowa, Psychology and Sociology), Sammantha Meyers (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Elementary Education), Christy Mottier (Sr., Madison, Wis., Business Management), Olivia Nolte (Sr., Atkins, Iowa, Elementary Education), Caitlin Radliff (Jr., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering), Madison Ross (Sr., Charles City, Iowa, Exercise Science), and Cydnee Whiteleather (Sr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Elementary Education).
“The ladies bowled great all week,” Head Coach Kirstin Foster said. “I believe this was our first time qualifying in the top four to earn a bye. We then came out firing to win our first match. We struggled against SCAD Savannah, but pushed St. Francis to an eighth game. It was disappointing not being able to walk away from that match, but the ladies exceeded expectations. They fought until the end and left it all out there. I am proud of what they accomplished this season and look forward to continue building on that.”
