Collegiate Ticker - Dec. 28, 2016

A pair of longstanding Tier 1 events, the Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational and Collegiate Shoot-Out, took place last week in Las Vegas as the 2016-2017 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season gears up for its second half.

The Las Vegas Invitational, which was held Dec. 19-20 at the South Point Bowling Plaza, featured a sweep by the Wichita State men and women, while the Collegiate Shoot-Out, held Dec. 21-22 at The Orleans Bowling Center, saw the Calumet men and Wichita State women successfully defend their titles.

The Las Vegas Invitational featured nine traditional games of qualifying to determine the 16 men's teams and eight women's teams that advanced to the match-play bracket. Bracket play consisted of best-of-five Baker matches.

The Wichita State men qualified third for the bracket and put together a 12-2 record on their way to the title, including a sweep of No. 12 Urbana in the championship match. The Shockers earned their spot in the title match by defeating No. 2 Webber International, 3-1, and Urbana knocked off No. 8 William Penn, 3-1, to advance.

Wichita State's Wesley Low claimed the men's individual title with a nine-game total of 2,129, a 236.56 average, holding off Webber's David Lance, who finished second with 2,108. A pair of Midland teammates, Nick Pate (2,088) and Casey Maxted (2,031), finished third and fourth, respectively, and Calumet's Michael Davidson rounded out the top five with 2,002.

On the women's side, Wichita State dominated qualifying to earn the top seed for the bracket and won the deciding game in the title match to defeat No. 3 Webber International, 3-2. Wichita State downed No. 5 Baker in the semifinal, 3-1, while Webber eliminated No. 2 Emmanuel, 3.5-0.5.

Wichita State's Kristie Lopez edged teammate Hollyann Johansen by a single pin to claim the women's top individual honor for the event with a 1,914 total, a 212.67 average. Emmanuel's Destiny Harper finished third with 1,889, and Saginaw Valley State's Morgan Hatton (1,810) and Wichita State's Ashlyn Herzberg (1,800), finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Collegiate Shoot-Out included six traditional games and 16 Baker games with total pinfall, including bonus pins, determining the champions in each division.

The Wichita State women cruised to their seventh consecutive Collegiate Shoot-Out title, outdistancing the field by more than 500 pins to finish with an 11,708 total. Webber International finished second with 11,193, and Midland took third with 11,073.

Urbana's Katelyn Hull and Maude Demers paced the six-game block to claim the top spot in the individual standings. Hull led the way with a 1,383 total, a 230.5, average, while Demers finished second with 1,339. Grand Canyon's Correen Lieber recorded a third-place finish with 1,306, and Wichita State's Laura Plazas (1,278) and West Texas A&M's Kat Rush (1,275) finished in the top five.

Calumet's path to a second consecutive men's title featured a near-perfect 29-1 record to get the Crimson Wave to a 12,445 total, 11 pins ahead of Webber International (12,434). Wichita State finished third with 12,228.

Wichita State's Mitch Hupé‚ rolled 257 in his final game to take the top spot in the men's individual standings with 1,400, a 233.33 average. Midland's Zach Karr finished second with 1,398, while Calumet's Jeffrey Holden (1,383), Arizona State's Russ Oviatt (1,381) and Urbana's Trey Cooper (1,379) also recorded top-five finishes.

For complete results, click here.

Two additional Tier 1 events are taking place this week in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Results for the Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Collegiate Classic and Lehigh Valley Collegiate Classic will be reported in next week's Collegiate Ticker.