WPU Fifth in Qualifying, Reaches Semis at Hoosier
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Indianapolis, Ind.–Title defense is always tough, but it is so much more difficult when it is the grand-daddy of all regular-season events you are trying to retain, but that was the case for the William Penn men’s bowling team at the Hoosier Classic Saturday and Sunday.
The Statesmen entered as the defending bracket play champions and cleared the first hurdle by placing fifth out of 78 teams with 8,850 pins. Robert Morris (Ill.), with 9,126 pins, headlined qualifying action at the tourney, which consisted of six regular games and 15 Baker rounds.
WPU then moved a step closer to taking its second-straight crown by knocking off #4 seed St. Francis (Ill.) in the quarterfinals of the bracket tournament. Unfortunately, the crew came up a bit short as it was eliminated by eventual champion RMU in the semis.
Kristopher Yadao of Midland (Neb.) was first out of 544 individuals in qualifying with a 225.7 average (1,354 total pins).
Three navy and gold rollers finished in the top 20, headlined by Curtis Majka (Sr., Elgin, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) placing ninth at 209.8. Nick Walker (Sr., Zeeland, Mich., Business Management) was 16th overall at 208.3, while Aleksander Kostric (So., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) ended up 20th at 207.2.
Rok Kostric (So., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) also started all six games with a 193.0 clip. David Decker (Jr.., Peyton, Colo., Physical Education), at 190.0 in four rounds, and Logan Mason (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management), at 155.0 in two starts, also competed for WPU in qualifying.
Next Up: William Penn is off two weeks, returning to action on March 2-3 when it travels to Topeka, Kan. to compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships.
