The No.1 McKendree University women's bowling team finished in second place at the Big Red Classic this past weekend in Lincoln, Neb. 

On day one of the event, which was all baker style play, McKendree finished with three wins to place them in fourth place.

The Bearcats would defeat Youngstown State by a score of 1,086 to 964.

Day two would see the Bearcats move up to second place while wining four more matches, this time in traditional play. They defeated Upper Iowa decisively by a final score of 1,153 to 895. The Bearcats would also find success against the University of Nebraska as well as Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Maryville University.

Championship Sunday would see the Bearcats opening the day against the familiar face in the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. McKendree would emerge victorious after bowling a total pinfall of 1,067.

McKendree would then advance to the championship match for a bout with Vanderbilt University. The Bearcats would fall to the Commodores after a hard-fought championship match.

"Every day I get to see how this team learns and grows together, they are a special group pushing themselves and each other to be better with immense amounts of live and respect." Said head coach Shannon O'Keefe "I'm proud of them and their focus to be the best they can be, and I'm excited to see how the rest of this season will play out."

Junior Hope Gramly (Prosper, TX/Prosper) would again have a stellar weekend for the Bearcats, earning her fourth all tournament team honors of the season. Gramly also took home tournament MVP honors after leading the field in total pin fall of 1,904 and averaged a 238 on the weekend.

The Bearcats return to the lanes when they travel to Smyrna, Tennessee to compete in the Columbia 300 Music City Classic which begins on Friday, March 5^th.