Pikeville entries win in opening round of ITC

 
 
Pikeville entries win in opening round of ITC   April 18, 2008

WICHITA, Kan. — The bowlers from Pikeville College got off to a quick start Friday morning, rolling to first-round wins in the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships.

The men won their first opening-round match ever by sweeping Purdue 4-0, while the women knocked off Calumet College of St. Joseph 4-2.

Pikeville’s men, seeded ninth, knocked off No. 8 Purdue by scores of 182-176, 204-161, 204-175 and 204-184. Pikeville got big mornings from a pair of freshmen, as Jeremy King and Mark Mantle each rolled six strikes in their eight frames.

All-American Kyle Barnes was solid in the anchor position, rolling four strikes and four spares. Pikeville had five open frames in its four games and rolled 20 strikes.

Nathan Hause was also solid, with two strikes and six spares in his eight frames.

The Bears will now face 16-seeded Arizona State, which knocked off top-seeded William Paterson 4-2 in the opening round.

On the women’s side it was a little more challenging but ended well for the Lady Bears. Pikeville won 211-147, 191-224, 277-163, 189-167, 166-197, 233-197.

Pikeville stormed out of the gates, rolling strikes in six of its first seven frames. Seniors Kayla Bandy and Michelle McKay led the way with a pair of strikes each in the easy win. The lane switch also changed the momentum, as Calumet rolled nine strikes in a game-two win.

Game three was the showcase for the Lady Bears, opening with eight consecutive strikes and finishing with 11 in posting a 277.

To this point, lane 37 had yielded 27 strikes, compared to only 12 on lane 35.

Pikeville took command with a 189-167 win in Game 4, getting a turkey in frames 8-9-10 to seal the win. After dropping the fifth game 197-166, a game that saw Pikeville spread out three open frames, the Lady Bears sealed the deal by opening Game 6 with four consecutive strikes.

Bowler of the Year Kayla Bandy finished with eight strikes to lead the way. Anchor Ashly Galante, herself a first-team All-American, had seven strikes and five spares. Becky Sulligan and Jennifer Wright had six strikes each along with five and four spares, respectively.

Michelle McKay rolled five strikes while Sarah Germano added a pair.

The Lady Bears will now meet Central Florida. The Knights knocked off Fresno State 4-3 in the opening round.