William Penn Tops Field at Clarke Invite for First Title of Year
Dubuque–The Statesmen women’s bowling team claimed gold for the first time this season as it topped the standings at the Clarke Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
WPU was first out of 11 teams with 8,023 pins in five regular games and 16 Baker rounds. Culver-Stockton (Mo.) was a distant second, over 300 pins behind the navy and gold (7,682 pins).
With their top finish in qualifying, the Statesmen advanced to match play. William Penn defeated Grand View 2-1 (154-176, 211-197, 192-180) and Coe 2-1 (178-159, 179-197, 197-179) to take the crown.
The navy and gold topped all teams (including the men’s teams) with 3,189 pins during Baker play.
Individually, Carlee Hummel of Culver-Stockton led the 72-player field with 1,103 pins (220.6 average), while Madison Ross (Sr., Charles City, Iowa, Exercise Science) led her squad as an all-tournament honoree, taking third with 1,056 pins (211.2 average). The senior recorded three games over 200 (high of 240).
The duo of Caitlin Radliff (So., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering) and Gabi Evans (Sr., West Liberty, Iowa, Psychology and Sociology) just missed joining Ross on the all-tourney team as Radliff was seventh at 197.2, while Evans was eighth at 196.0.
Like Ross, Alexis Lake (Sr., Kaysville, Utah, Nursing) also eclipsed the 200 average, owning a 205.0 clip in four rounds.
Isabel Diaz (So., Kissimmee, Fla., Communications) was next with a 175.7 average in three games. Cydnee Whiteleather (Jr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Elementary Education) averaged 154.5 pins in two rounds, while Olivia Pilcher (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Exercise Science) knocked down 156 pins in her lone start.
The Statesmen also had a reserve team on the lanes with the JV event including only Baker games due to lack of lanes for all competitors. William Penn topped the three-team standings with 2,632 pins.
“The ladies bowled awesome all weekend!” Head Coach Kirstin Foster said. “Both our varsity and JV teams led immediately out of the gates and never looked back. Their energy was strong and that helped their momentum. Both squads fought hard in match play and came out on top. This was a good tournament to build confidence entering the last part of the regular season.”
Next Up: William Penn takes a week off before traveling to Cedar Rapids on February 4-5 to compete in the Coe Invitational.
