FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – The No. 2 ranked McKendree University women's bowling team took home the team title here this weekend at the 2021 National Collegiate Team Match Games hosted by McKendree and held at St. Clair Bowl.
At the two-day event, the Bearcats NCAA team won the team title as they closed the tournament with a total of 10,366 pins to finish nearly 400 pins in front of tournament runner-up Mount Mercy, who totaled 9,975 pins, while Newman (Kan.) University was third with a total of 9,800 pins.
After Saturday's first day of action that featured traditional team play, the Bearcats were in first place with a total of 6,036 pins, while St. Ambrose was second with 5,986 pins and Mount Mercy was third with 5,793 pins.
In Sunday's Baker play, the Bearcats tallied a total of 4,330 pins to hold off both Mount Mercy, who totaled 4,182 pins and Newman, who had a total of 4,024 pins.
The team title was the first of the season of the Bearcats as they had previously recorded runner-up finishes at both the Bearcat Hammer Open to begin the 2021-22 season on Oct. 22-24 and the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic on Nov. 12-14.
Individually, the Bearcats' had four bowlers finish in the Top 11 at the National Collegiate Match Games as sophomore
Rhian Dobinson (Farnborough, England/The Warvell School) and senior
Hope Gramly (Prosper, Texas/Prosper) each earned spots on the All-Tournament Team as Dobinson finished third overall as she recorded a total of 1,276 pins and averaged 212.7 per game and had a high game of 241, while Gramly was fourth overall with a total of 1,265 pins and an average of 210.8 per game and a high game of 268.
The other two Bearcats to place in the Top 11 of individual standings were junior
Maranda Pattison (Redwood Valley, Calif./Ukiah Independent) and senior
Kirstin Rood (Monroe, Wis./Monroe). Pattison just missed All-Tournament Team honors as she placed seventh with a pinfall total of 1,237 and averaged 206.2 per game with a high game of 269, while Rood was 11th overall with a pinfall total of 1,174 and an average of 195.7 per game with a high game of 228.
St. Ambrose had the top two individuals overall at the event as Addy Nelson won the event with a pinfall total of 1,309 for an average of 218.2 as she bowled over 200 in all six games, while Megan Hess was second with a pinfall total of 1,277 for an average of 212.8 per game. Hess' high game was a 236.
McKendree, which was ranked No. 2 in the Preseason NTCA Coaches Poll and is ranked No. 1 in the latest USBC Team ranking system, will return to action after the holiday break on Jan. 8-10 as they compete in the Second-Annual Stormin' Blue & White Vegas Classic hosted by Mount St. Mary's University and held at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
