COLUMBUS — The Muskingum University men and Ohio State woen topped their respective fields during the Ohio Bowling Conference’s first tournament of the season recently at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace.
In the men’s division, Muskingum finished with 7,019 total pinfall to top the field. The Muskies were followed by Northwestern Ohio (6,965), Robert Morris (6,746) and St. Vincent (6,605). Walsh University finished sixth in the field with 6,457, followed by Akron (10th, 5,804) in the 15-team field.
For Walsh, junior JT Jackson finishing 30th overall and Jordan Norris finishing 33rd overall. Sophomore Ryan Hanzak finished with the top score of 224 on the day.
Northern Ohio’s Britton Hole was the top individual with 864 (216 average), followed by Muskingum’s Ehthan McDonald.
In the women’s division, Ohio State finished with 6,179 to top the field, with Walsh taking second with 6,064 in the 11-team event.
Ursuline’s Patricia Roon topped individuals with 767 (191.75 average), followed by Rio Grande’s Sydney Dickson (756) and Ohio State’s Abbey Ambroza (750).
The Cavaliers were led by a trio of bowlers finishing in the top 20. Sophomore Hannah DeFord finished 10th overall with a high game of 208. Senior Addison Starr and sophomore Kendall Schaar finished tied for 18th overall.
Coming in off the bench during individuals, freshmen Rachel Young (GlenOak) didn’t take long to make her presence known rolling games of 180 and 245 to have the high game of the day in her first collegiate tournament.
In junior varsity play, Walsh topped the women’s three-team field with 5,285, with Rio Grande taking second (5,179). Sophomore Jessica Lawrence had190 in Game 1 to lead the Cavaliers.
Northwestern Ohio topped the men’s JVs with 6,625, followed by Muskingum No. 1 with 6,347. Walsh was fourth with 5,990.
The Walsh men were led by senior Zach Eble with 257 in Game 1 and finishing wth a 196.8 average to finish eighth.
The OBC’s next conference event is Oct. 22, also at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace.
OTHER COLLEGE ACTION
The 51st edition of the Midwest Collegiate Championships took place last weekend across two centers in the greater Milwaukee area with the Lawrence Tech men and Mount Mercy women capturing the first Tier I titles of the 2022-2023 season.
The Midwest Collegiate Championships historically has served as the first big test of the season for many collegiate programs, and the 2022 event welcomed 49 varsity teams in the men’s division at Bowlero Wauwatosa and 35 varsity squads on the women’s side at AMF West Lanes.
Qualifying consisted of six traditional games Saturday and 16 Baker games Sunday before the top eight teams in each division advanced to bracket play to determine the winner. Each round of the bracket featured a best-of-three Baker format.
The top three men’s teams through qualifying were Indiana Tech (10,173), Calumet (10,117) and defending Intercollegiate Team Championships winner Wisconsin-Whitewater (9,928). St. Francis-Illinois earned the eighth and final spot in the bracket after finishing with a 9,463 total.
Coming in as the No. 5 seed, Lawrence Tech swept No. 4 McKendree (183-175, 225-222) and rallied against top qualifier Indiana Tech (180-246, 236-188, 185-173) to advance to the finals.
On the other side of the bracket, Calumet flirted with perfection against No. 7 Judson (298-196, 210-184) and eliminated No. 6 Saint Xavier (185-176, 212-142) to earn its spot in the finals against the Blue Devils.
Lawrence Tech rolled to the early advantage in Game 1 (224-144) before the Crimson Wave evened the match in Game 2 (243-158). In the deciding game, the Blue Devils bounced back from an open in the first frame and delivered seven strikes to cruise to the win, 223-158. Calumet fought hard but was unable to recover from three opens in the first six frames of Game 3.
The victory marked the first Tier I title for the men’s program at Lawrence Tech.
In the individual standings, McKendree’s Jorge Rodriguez-Rosas put up a six-game total of 1,489 (248.16 average) on Saturday to earn the top spot in a field featuring more than 375 student-athletes. The two-time National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) All-American rolled games of 242, 264, 243, 241, 278 and 221 at Bowlero Wauwatosa.
Rodriguez-Rosas was joined on the all-tournament team by Judson’s Blaine Hunt (1,448), Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Luke Winter (1,447), Indiana Tech’s James Bennett (1,446) and Calumet’s Joey Ocello (1,412).
Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Drake Bazzy also rolled a 300 during Saturday’s action.
In the women’s division, the top qualifiers included St. Francis-Illinois (9,072), Coe (8,912) and Mount Mercy (8,757). Missouri Baptist finished in eighth place to advance to the bracket with an 8,528 total.
Mount Mercy made its way to the finals of the bracket with wins over No. 6 Notre Dame-Ohio (187-207, 195-182, 214-170) and No. 7 Midland (218-185, 208-155).
The Mustangs were joined in the title match by No. 5 St. Ambrose. The Fighting Bees advanced with victories over No. 4 Saint Xavier (191-188, 190-222, 197-191) and Missouri Baptist (182-168, 160-170, 196-161).
St. Ambrose held the early lead in Game 1, but the Mustangs delivered three consecutive strikes, starting in the ninth frame, to complete the comeback and secure the advantage, 204-185.
In Game 2, Mount Mercy took control with a double in the third and fourth frames and never looked back on the way to the title, posting a 194-163 victory.
Coe’s Michaela Beckmann posted the top six-game score Saturday in the women’s division, finishing with a 1,322 total (220.33 average). The freshman tossed games of 252, 229, 195, 231, 243 and 172 on the way to the top spot.
Joining Beckmann in the top five were Huntington’s Amber Elliott (1,307), Mount Mercy’s Megan Kolberg (1,302), Davenport’s Kasey Eaton (1,264) and Culver-Stockton’s Jasmine Saunders (1,258).