The Illinois Wesleyan women’s bowling team played in a NCAA tournament against Division I, II and III teams at the “Flyer Classic” from Friday, February 11 through Sunday, February 13.Despite coming home with a loss, the Titans set multiple team and individual records at the tournament
Hosted by the Lewis University Flyers, the three day tournament consisted of Friday’s Baker tournament, Saturday’s traditional games and Sunday’s best of seven Baker tournament.
In the Baker tournaments on Friday, the Titans bowled against Dominican University, Maryville University, Lewis University, and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Despite losing all four matches, the Titans bowled their new high team-score of 156 against University of Alabama-Birmingham in their second game of the match.
Bowling that game were seniors Sarah Buchmann and Oreo Beard, juniors Alivia Catey and Shea Atkins and first-year Laina Chavarria. There were limited numbers on Friday as only five bowlers out of the eight-person team were able to make it, so every woman bowled every game, adding to the mental and physical toll of the game.
The Titans bowled against Carthage College, Kentucky Wesleyan University, Quincy University, Aurora University and Carroll University at the Saturday traditional games. Senior Ashley Cook arrived that morning to bowl with the team, giving Beard a break on the first game and Chavarria a break on the fifth. The rest proved advantageous because Saturday’s games also led to personal bests for the team and several members.
The Titans bowled their team best for a traditional game of 677 against Quincy’s 885. In spite of the loss, this was a huge win for the team. That game also included Atkins’s best game of 188, Buchmann’s best game of 157 and Catey’s best game of 129. In the next game against Aurora, Beard bowled her highest tournament score of 122.
Sunday’s best of seven was a match against Dominican University yet again. Playing that game were Buchmann, Catey, Cook, Chavarria and Atkins. This match was full of friendly competition as the Titans and Stars cheered each other on with high fives and fist bumps. And while the first and third games were in Dominican’s favor, the second game was much tighter, with a Dominican win of 113 to the Titans’ 108. In the fourth game, the Titans made their first single game win of the season, bowling a 140 to the Stars’ 127. The next game, Dominican won with a 152 to IWU’s 127.
Even though the Titans came in last place overall, this weekend proved to be one of the best for the program. Coaches Melissa Mutters and Anthony Lunsford were incredibly proud of the team.
“This last weekend was amazing to watch and a major stepping stone for our program,” Lunsford said. “I couldn’t be any more proud of our student athletes and I hope they recognize that their hard work is paying off.”
The Titans will be playing in Aurora at the Mardi Gras Lanes on Saturday, February 19 for a single-day College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin quad event.