OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Missouri Baptist University men's and women's bowling programs made the trip to Overland Park this weekend for the Unaffiliated Group Tournament featuring teams from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, American Midwest Conference, and Great Plains Athletic Conference. At stake this weekend was an automatic berth to the NAIA Bowling National Championships held at the end of March.
On the women's side, 10 teams competed in the two-day tournament that began with 20 Baker style games on Day One to determine seeding for the double-elimination bracket on the second day. The ladies battled through a tough pattern to qualify fifth place after the 20 Baker games. On Day Two, the Spartans fell in back-to-back matches to eventual conference champion William Woods University and Midland University. The conference tournament likely marks the end to the NAIA portion of the season as they turn to USBC ITC Sectionals in Smyrna, Tenn. on March 9-10.
Competing in Kansas for the women's team were seniors Delana Mentel and Alex Cruez, juniors Caitlyn Ennis, Mackenzie McIntyre, and Bri Acord, sophomores Courtney Baer and Kassandra Foss, and freshman Emily Wagner.
The MBU men made a strong statement on Saturday, qualifying second with high games of 247 in Game 1 and 206 in Game 8. MBU went into the second day looking for a positive result in the double-elimination bracket.
Success is what they found in the first round against Avila University, the second year in a row they matched up with each other in the first round. After falling behind 2-0 early, the Spartans fought back to avenge last year's loss and advance, drawing Hastings College in the second round.
They fell to Hastings in a five-game matchup, pushing the Spartans into the loser's bracket where they faced Morningside. They defeated the Mustangs in four, with some close matches within. Game One was decided by a single pin with MBU needing eight pins to take the game and getting just that. The deciding game was decided by a score of 181-174, where the Spartans needed a double in the 10th frame to secure the victory.
They then competed with Ottawa, winning that matchup 3-1 as well, meaning they matched up with Midland, the No. 1 seed in the tournament. A tough semifinal matchup found the second-seeded Spartans tied after four. MBU prevailed to earn a spot in the finals against No. 3 seed Hastings.
MBU kept it close through the finals, losing their matches by an average of 11.25 pins, but eventually fell to the Broncos 4-1. The men made a great run in the conference tournament, after entering the postseason ranked 14th in the latest NAIA RPI. The Spartans will have an outside shot at an at-large bid for the NAIA Men's Bowling National Championships and will learn their fate in the coming weeks.
The roster for the men this weekend consisted of seniors Hunter Jones, Seth Harris, and Bryce Thurman, junior Kevin Brown, sophomore James Bennett, and freshmen Jack Hoffbuhr, Charlie Hunter, and Bryson Hicks.
The Spartans will turn their attention to USBC ITC Sectionals on March 9-10 in Smyrna, Tenn. It marks the second year in a row that both the men's and women's squad will be continuing their postseason at the USBC Sectionals.
