Collegiate Ticker – Jan. 6, 2016

Matt Cannizzaro
USBC Communications
Published: January 6, 2016 | Bowl.com

While the annual winter break gives students and student-athletes some deserved time away from the classroom, collegiate bowlers know the end of December also means some of the year’s best competition, with four Tier 1 events to close the year.

More than three dozen teams made their way to Las Vegas for the Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational and Collegiate Shoot-Out, while Allentown, Pennsylvania, saw a noteworthy turnout for the Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Collegiate Classic and Lehigh Valley Collegiate Classic.

The Calumet College of St. Joseph men cashed in big in Las Vegas, winning both events, and the women’s titles went to Pikeville and Wichita State.

At the Las Vegas Invitational, held at the South Point Bowling Plaza, Calumet qualified third after nine team games and then rolled through the 16-team bracket with wins over Arizona State (3-2), William Penn (3-0), Wichita State (3-0) and Pikeville (3-1).

Pikeville qualified third on the women’s side and topped Newman (3-0), Webber International (3-2) and Marian University (3-1) for the victory.

Tyler Woods from the University of Kansas earned top individual honors for the men with a 2,073 total for nine games, a 230.33 average, just ahead of Wichita State’s AJ Chapman (2,043). Urbana’s Katelyn Hull was the top woman with a 1,882 total, followed by Wichita’s Dasha Kovalova (1,876).

Across town at the Orleans Bowling Center, the Calumet men easily completed the sweep by posting a 12,443 total through a combination of traditional and Baker games. Wichita State was a distant second at 12,138, followed by Webber International (12,094) and Pikeville (12,093).

The Wichita State women also had little trouble on the way to winning the Collegiate Shoot-Out, topping Webber International by nearly 1,100 pins. The Shockers won with a 12,616 total, well ahead of Webber (11,521), Pikeville (11,053) and Urbana (10,998).

Webber’s Ramon Hilferink opened the block of six traditional games at the Collegiate Shoot-Out with 279, 277 and 247 for an 803 series and went on to lead the pack with a six-game total of 1,516, a 252.7 average. Nebraska’s Cameron Brei was second with 1,427.

Kovalova was the top female at The Orleans Bowling Center with a 1,402 total, and she was followed by Newman’s Kelly Machacek with 1,375.

In Allentown, the Notre Dame College women topped Wright State to win both tournaments, and the Robert Morris-Illinois men used a runner-up finish as motivation to close 2015 with a victory.

Notre Dame College posted an 8,333 total through a combination of traditional and Baker games to win the Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Collegiate Classic at Haja Rose Bowl by 115 pins over Wright State (8,218) and Robert Morris-Illinois (8,199). Concordia University was a distant fourth with a 7,872 total.

The conclusion of the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Classic at AMF Parkway Bowling Lanes was a little more dramatic, as the top two teams were separated by just three pins.

Notre Dame finished with an 8,682 total, Wright State was second with 8,679, Robert Morris-Illinois was third with 8,362 and Florida State rounded out the top four with 8,272.

On the men’s side, Morehead State used a 9,099 total to win the Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Collegiate Classic. The Eagles were followed by Robert Morris-Illinois (8,990), Wisconsin-Whitewater (8,962) and Arizona State (8,700).

Robert Morris-Illinois finished the year strong by cruising to the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Classic title by nearly 300 pins. The Eagles finished the traditional-Baker combination with a 9,398 total and were followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater (9,108), Vincennes (8,858) and William Paterson (8,810).

Individually on the men’s side, Morehead’s Zach Doty and Robert Morris-Illinois’ Ryan Zagar took top individual honors at the Keystone Quaker Collegiate Classic and Lehigh Valley Collegiate Classic, respectively. Doty averaged 219 to finish just four pins ahead of Zagar at the first event, and Zagar averaged more than 229 to top Whitewater’s Zach Woelfel.

For the women, Notre Dame College’s Brittany Ferrara was dominant through five games at Haja Rose Bowl, averaging 213.2 for a 1,066 total. South Florida’s Tess Puhak was second with 997. Florida State’s Rachel DeVillier topped the field at the Lehigh Valley event with a 1,061 total, outdistancing Notre Dame College’s Janet Hill (1,047).

For complete results, click here.