On Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, the Illinois Wesleyan women’s bowling team competed in the Illinois State Bowling Proprietors Association/Kegel Collegiate Classic in Addison, Ill. This was the Titans third match of the season, competing against 54 other teams across the Midwest.
The women’s bowling team is headed by new head coach Gary Robinson, who was hired in fall 2025.
Robinson had previously coached high school teams, alongside competing in the master league for over 17 years. The team consists of exclusively first-year students, most of whom have never bowled competitively before this season. The team has six students: Gigi Sanchez, Trinity Ricks, Cece Ojelade, Cece Moore, Sarah Guzman, and Ari Gamble.
This weekend’s competition included five traditional games on Saturday and 16 baker games on Sunday. Both days started bright and early at roughly 7:30 a.m. and ended around 2 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
On Saturday, the team reached its new highest cumulative score during the first game at 526 pins.
Over all five games, each player individually scored: Sanchez (654), Ricks (389), Ojelade (246), Moore (301), Guzman (162), and Gamble (440).
On Sunday, the 16 baker games went smoothly with the team’s lowest score at 64 and highest at 122.
Baker games are typically faster than traditional games because a team of players scores as if they are one player in a round, but each player only bowls twice. For example, the first player would bowl for the 1st and 5th frames, the second player for the 2nd and 6th, and so on.
Despite being fast-paced, these games are high-pressure, as each player only has a few chances to get as many pins on the board as possible. With each game, the team is steadily improving and hopes to see its first victory by the end of the season. The team’s next match is on Feb. 14th and 15th in Indianapolis, Ind., for the Hoosier Classic.
“We may not be a leading team sport at IWU yet, but we are number one in diversity,” Guzman said.
