FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – The McKendree University men's bowling team placed fourth overall out of 23 teams at this weekend's 2022 National Collegiate Team Match Games hosted by McKendree and held at St. Clair Bowl.
At the two-day event, the Bearcats totaled 10,578 pins overall to finish in fourth place overall as they were 150 pins in front of fifth place Savannah College of Art and Design (10,428) and 129 pins behind third place St. Ambrose, who totaled 10,707 pins. Overall for the event, eight teams recorded over 10,000 pins.
Wichita State took home the team title with 10,915 pins, while Webber International was second with 10,874 pins.
After Saturday's first day of action that featured traditional play, the Bearcats were in third place with 6,347 pins, while Wichita State was first with 6,771 pins and Webber International was second with 6,589 pins.
In Sunday's Baker play, the Bearcats recorded a total of 4,231 pins to fall from third to fourth place. Wichita State totaled 4,144 pins, while Webber International recorded 4,285 and St. Ambrose had 4,367 pins.
During their fall season, McKendree finished in the Top 4 of four different events, including tying for first at the Boilermaker Classic. In addition, the Bearcats were third in the Lions Classic and were fourth in the both the Midwest Collegiate Championship and the National Collegiate Team Match Games.
Individually, the Bearcats had one bowler finish in the Top 5 of the individual standings to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Senior
Jorge Rodriguez (Yauco, Puerto Rico/Lincoln Memorial) was fourth overall with a total pinfall of 1,409 and averaged 233.8 per game. Rodriguez recorded 200 or better in five of six games, including a perfect 300 in the sixth game.
In addition to Rodriguez, fifth-year senior
Daniel Chin (Daly City, Calif./Calumet College of St. Joseph) was 19th overall with a total pinfall of 1,287 and an average of 214.5 per game. Chin had five games of 200 or better, including a high of 258 in the first game.
Wichita State's Spencer Robarge was the top individual finisher as he recorded a total pinfall of 1,475 and averaged 245.8 per game. He posted five games of 200 or better, including a high of 286 in the first game.
Meanwhile, the junior varsity team finished first in their division with a total pinfall of 10,246 to outdistance runner-up Newman (9.703) by 543 pins for the title in the JV Division.
The top individual for the JV team was junior
Kristopher Walter (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) as he placed 12th with a total pinfal 1,358 and averaged 226.3 per game. Walter recorded five games of over 200, including a high of 254 in the second game.
The second JV bowler was junior
Garrett Lee (Montebello, Calif./Applied Technology Center), who recorded a total pinfall of 1,250 and averaged 208.3 per game. Lee had four games of 200 or better, including a high of 246 in the third game.
McKendree will return to action after the holiday break on Jan. 15-16 as they compete in the Kegel-ISBPIA Midwest Collegiate Classic held at the Stardust Bowl in Addison, Ill.
