The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater bowling team competed in the high-powered Northeast Classic hosted by Sacred Heart in Deptford, New Jersey this weekend. The tournament was the second largest for NCAA competition in history since the first year of the bowling championships in 2004. The 33-team field featured 22 nationally ranked teams including No. 23 UWW.
The tournament kicked off with baker competition Friday. The Warhawks dropped their opening match 996-871 to No. 13 Delaware State. The second match of the day was a close one against No. 12 Duquesne. UWW took the first baker game 189-179 and then took the lead in game three with a 195-190 win. A narrow 212-215 loss evened the match and Duquesne had the edge in the final game for the win.
In the third match of the day, the Warhawks bounced back from a low score in game one to take three of the next four including capping the match with a 232. Skye Farr posted a 90-percent frame fill and 50-percent strike rate to lead UWW to a 947-810 win over Chestnut Hill. UW-Whitewater fell to Long Island University 872-905 in a back-and-forth match before ending the day on a high note. The Warhawks took down No. 21 Sacred Heart in their final match Friday.
Kelly Whipple (Sheboygan, Wis./South) bolstered UWW in the 950-922 win striking at a nearly 63-percent clip.
UW-Whitewater opened Saturday's traditional team game format with a huge 880-855 win over No. 14 Fairleigh Dickinson. Rolling from a big match one win, UWW set their sights on No. 2 North Carolina A&T in match two.
Rachel Nelson (Poplar Grove, Ill./Belvidere North) posted a 196 as the leadoff followed by a 200 from
Dani Swaisgood (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs).
Rebecca Howard (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and Farr tallied a 168 and 170 respectively and Whipple anchored the team with a huge 267 to lead the Warhawks to a 1001-996 win.
UWW picked up two more wins in the final three matches of the day Saturday including a 925-865 win over Kutztown and an 889-884 victory over St. Francis-Brooklyn. The lone blemish on the day was a narrow 912-908 loss to Merrimack.
Whipple was the individual for the Warhawks. She posted a total pinfall of 1,030, an average of 206 in five games to wrap up the day 24th in the standings. Howard and Nelson also finished among the top 100 bowlers with total pinfalls of 944 and 924 respectively. The individual leaderboard featured more than 200 bowlers.
The Warhawks drew Medaille for their first round of bracket competition Sunday. UWW topped the Mavericks 4-2 (178-183, 170-190, 169-142, 193-160, 216-168, 191-163) to set up a rematch with No. 21 Sacred H. eart. Following a tough loss to the host institution, 2-4 (188-158, 179-223, 170-173, 203-185, 159-237, 153-209), the Warhawks were paired back up with Medaille for the second time Sunday. The rematch saw the Mavs taking the upper hand this time with a 4-3 win.
UW-Whitewater wrapped up the tournament with a 7-6 record.
**Complete results will be posted when made available from the host institution
