Pikeville bowlers among elite in latest national polls

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The Pikeville College bowling teams are quietly going about their business, and at this point in the season, business is going well.

The defending national champion Lady Bears have won four of their seven tournaments to this point and are the consensus No. 4 in the nation, while the men, who finished fifth in the national tournament a year ago, are also in the top 10.

The women’s team trails the same three teams – Central Florida, Wichita State and McKendree – in both the writers’ and coaches polls. In the coaches’ poll, Central Florida picked up 14 first-place votes, with second-ranked Wichita State getting the other four. McKendree is third, followed by Pikeville and Lindenwood in the Top 5.

The top five is the same in the writers’ poll, with Central Florida getting 5.5 first-place nods and Wichita State picking up the remaining 3.5.

“I’ve been very proud of our young women and how they’ve played to this point in the season,” said Coach Ron Damron. “We’ve done well in a couple of tournaments that surprised me a little. I like the makeup and the depth of our team.”

Pikeville has won four of its seven tournaments this year – taking its own Orange & Black Classic as well as tournaments hosted by Wright State and Bellarmine and the Sam’s Town Classic in Las Vegas – and finished third in the other three – the SI Elite, the US Collegiate Match Games and the Las Vegas Shootout.

The men are ranked fourth by the bowling writers and seventh by the coaches. In the writers’ poll, they trail top-ranked Lindenwood, which picked up all nine first-place votes, Wichita State and Saginaw Valley.

In the coaches’ opinion, Lindenwood picked up 14 of the 16 first-place nods, with No. 2 Wichita and third-ranked Central Florida getting one apiece. Saginaw Valley and Newman round out the Top 5, with Rochester Tech just ahead of the Bears.

“The guys are working hard and gearing up for the final four regular-season events of the year,” said Coach Kyle Wilson. “Our seniors, Gerald Richardson and John Grundy, as well as juniors Kyle Barnes, Chris White and Jesse Hawkins, are leading our hard-working team.”

Pikeville’s top finishes have been in the Wright State’s Raider Classic, where it finished second, and third in the Brunswick Southern Collegiate Classic in Marietta, Ga.

The bowling postseason will begin March 14-15 with the USBC ITC Sectional Qualifier, held at four locations throughout the country. The national championship will be April 15-18 in Rockford, Ill.