McKendree women, Davenport men win 2011 NAIA Invitational
April 03, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS - The McKendree women and Davenport men went undefeated in match play to claim titles Sunday at the 2011 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Invitational.
McKendree took down St. Ambrose, 3-1, while Davenport defeated William Penn, 3-1, in the championship matches at Woodland Bowl. The event was streamed live on BOWL.com from start to finish.
After dropping the first game 220-185, the Bearcats battled back to win the next three to defeat St. Ambrose. McKendree, the runner-up at the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships last year, rolled with victories of 168-164, 217-186 and 243-159.
"All eight of my players had a great look, so I felt like I could use any of them at any time," McKendree women's coach Gary White said. "We just started steamrolling people in match play. It's one of those rolls you like to get on and it just kept going. The girls did a great job."
Davenport entered the double-elimination match-play bracket as the No. 15 seed after 24 games of qualifying on Thursday. The Panthers won the opening two games against William Penn, 183-176 and 205-190, before dropping the third game, 213-179. They took the fourth game 214-168 to lock up the win.
"We've got a group of guys who have really come to life in the last few weeks," Davenport men's coach Mike Eaton said. "Our bracket seemed pretty tough, but some of the top teams got beat early and that really helped us out."
In the semifinals, St. Ambrose took down Robert Morris (Illinois), 3-2, while William Penn knocked off Viterbo, 3-1, to advance.
NAIA elevated bowling to emerging sport status last summer. The move by one of the nation's governing bodies for collegiate athletics puts bowling on the path to becoming a championship sport for dozens of additional colleges and universities across the country.
In the 2010-11 season, teams from 28 schools fielded bowling teams. If 50 or more NAIA member institutions designate bowling as a varsity sport, then bowling will be eligible for championship sport status and an NAIA national championship.
The NAIA has 50,000 student-athletes participating at nearly 300 member colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Divided into 25 conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions, the NAIA offers 23 championships in 13 sports. All NAIA bowling programs are members of USBC Collegiate.
A total of 23 men's teams and 22 women's teams competed in the NAIA Invitational.
McKendree took down St. Ambrose, 3-1, while Davenport defeated William Penn, 3-1, in the championship matches at Woodland Bowl. The event was streamed live on BOWL.com from start to finish.
After dropping the first game 220-185, the Bearcats battled back to win the next three to defeat St. Ambrose. McKendree, the runner-up at the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships last year, rolled with victories of 168-164, 217-186 and 243-159.
"All eight of my players had a great look, so I felt like I could use any of them at any time," McKendree women's coach Gary White said. "We just started steamrolling people in match play. It's one of those rolls you like to get on and it just kept going. The girls did a great job."
Davenport entered the double-elimination match-play bracket as the No. 15 seed after 24 games of qualifying on Thursday. The Panthers won the opening two games against William Penn, 183-176 and 205-190, before dropping the third game, 213-179. They took the fourth game 214-168 to lock up the win.
"We've got a group of guys who have really come to life in the last few weeks," Davenport men's coach Mike Eaton said. "Our bracket seemed pretty tough, but some of the top teams got beat early and that really helped us out."
In the semifinals, St. Ambrose took down Robert Morris (Illinois), 3-2, while William Penn knocked off Viterbo, 3-1, to advance.
NAIA elevated bowling to emerging sport status last summer. The move by one of the nation's governing bodies for collegiate athletics puts bowling on the path to becoming a championship sport for dozens of additional colleges and universities across the country.
In the 2010-11 season, teams from 28 schools fielded bowling teams. If 50 or more NAIA member institutions designate bowling as a varsity sport, then bowling will be eligible for championship sport status and an NAIA national championship.
The NAIA has 50,000 student-athletes participating at nearly 300 member colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Divided into 25 conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions, the NAIA offers 23 championships in 13 sports. All NAIA bowling programs are members of USBC Collegiate.
A total of 23 men's teams and 22 women's teams competed in the NAIA Invitational.