From wire reports
The first Tier I event of the 2025-2026 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season took place last weekend in the Detroit area, with the Midwest Collegiate Championships serving as the first big test for teams in attendance.
There were 51 men’s varsity teams and 42 women’s varsity teams competing for eight match-play positions, which were determined after five individual games and 16 Baker games. In the best-of-three match-play bracket, the St. Ambrose men and Savannah College of Art and Design-Savannah women were the last ones standing in their respective divisions.
St. Ambrose qualified as the No. 6 seed in the bracket and faced No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater, the defending Intercollegiate Team Championships winner. The Fighting Bees made quick work of the Warhawks in 2-0 sweep, advancing to the semifinals and squaring off against No. 2 Webber International.
Another 2-0 sweep for St. Ambrose put them in the championship match against No. 1 Purdue, where the Fighting Bees closed out with games of 204 and 260 for their third straight sweep and the tournament win.
Individually, Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Dawson Peterson led all men with a five-game total of 1,197 while Muskingum’s Jacob Lehn was second with 1,156. Northwestern Ohio’s Bryce Massingill (1,109), Purdue’s Jack Konrad (1,107) and Saint Xavier’s Jason Laba (1,106) close out the top five.
On the women’s side, SCAD-Savannah qualified as the No. 4 seed and opened the match-play bracket against No. 5 Pikeville. After a Game 1 loss, the Bees took the next two to advance to the semifinals against No. 8 St. Ambrose.
In a battle of the Bees and Fighting Bees, it was SCAD-Savannah stinging St. Ambrose with games of 232 and 267 to sweep the semifinals to face No. 7 Cumberland in the finals.
After a Game 1 win shooting 286, SCAD-Savannah couldn’t complete the sweep after a 166 in Game 2 to Cumberland’s 184, forcing a deciding Game 3. A 192-144 match in favor of SCAD-Savannah put the Bees on top for the tournament win.
Marian-Indiana’s Paige Richards led all women during the individual block with a five-game total of 1,064, followed by Milligan’s Emily Cheesman with 1,045. Cumberland’s Mary Grace Connelly (1,036), Aquinas’ Tayler Mohney (1,031) and Pikeville’s Victoria Hines (1,025) rounded out the top five.
Women’s qualifying standings:
Current Top 8:
1. Aquinas College V – 7090
2. Milligan University V – 7015
3. Savannah College of Art and Design–Savannah V – 6981
4. Judson University V – 6933
5. Pikeville University V – 6931
6. Lawrence Technological University V – 6920
7. Cumberland University V – 6802
8. Northwestern Ohio University V – 6787
Cut Line
9. Indiana Institute of Technology V – 6757
10. Governors State University V – 6663
11. St. Ambrose University V – 6635
12. Marian University (IN) V – 6629
13. Trine University V – 6601
14. Calumet College of St. Joseph V – 6567
15. Lourdes University V – 6515
16. Saint Xavier University V – 6515
17. Rochester University V – 6469
18. St. Francis (IL) University V – 6451
19. Muskingum University V – 6376
20. Davenport University V – 6309
21. University of the Cumberlands V – 6309
22. Indianapolis University V – 6308
23. Cleary University V – 6303
24. Purdue University V – 6265
25. Olivet University V – 6234
26. Goshen College V – 6234
27. Clarke University V – 6089
28. Huntington University V – 6074
29. Savannah College of Art and Design–Atlanta V – 6024
30. Capital University V – 6000
31. Midway University V – 5960
32. Hastings College V – 5899
33. Grace College V – 5860
34. Madonna University V – 5781
35. Michigan State University V – 5660
36. Mount Vernon Nazarene University V – 5588
37. Thomas More University V – 5549
38. Michigan–Dearborn V – 5485
39. Ohio Northern University V – 5433
40. Grand Valley State University V – 5346
41. Kent State–Tuscarawas V – 5312
42. Lindsey Wilson College V – 4993
In other collegiate action:
• The first two Southwest Intercollegiate Bowling Conference (SWIBC) events took place in Fort Worth, Texas. SWIBC I saw the Oklahoma Christian men and Louisiana Tech women win, while the Newman men won SWIBC II and Louisiana Tech women completed a weekend sweep.
• At the Mercyhurst Invitational in Erie, Pa., the Niagara women defeated Wright State in bracket play to win the event.
• At the Knightro Open in Hackensack, N.J., the Fairleigh Dickenson women earned a narrow four-pin win over Sacred Heart.
• At the Pioneer Invite in Platteville, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin-Platteville men and Viterbo women collected bracket wins.
The season continues with eight events on the docket for the weekend, including the Ohio Bowling Conference event in Columbus.