MONROE, Mich. - The women's bowling team finished 5th out of 16 teams in the third American Heartland Conference tournament of the year held at Nortel Lanes in Monroe, Michigan on Sunday. The Bulldogs would finish only four pins behind the fourth place team and 48 pins from third place team in an extremely close tournament that came down to the last game. Freshman Emily Gesell had another strong tournament, leading the team with a 183 average on the day, finishing 13th overall in the individual standings. Jessica Stamper also a freshman, bowled well for the day averaging a 170.75 for 4 games.
The team struggled early on sitting in 7th place after the five team games. However, the team was determined to finish higher than they did the day before and got hot during the baker games portion of the tournament ending with a total pinfall of 2767 for 15 games. They averaged 184.47 per game, which was 21 pins higher than their average for the team games. Only Davenport University would bowl a higher total and they won the tournament. The team rolled a 623, which is the highest three-game baker set bowled by any team so far in all three conference events.
"Our spare shooting during the baker games was outstanding," said head coach Jody Fetterhoff. "The team bowled three clean games and at one point they went 34 consecutive frames without an open. It was exciting to watch and because the tournament was only an hour away, most of the team's family members and friends were there to cheer them on. Overall the team bowled great and I am looking forward to bowling our first NCAA tournament of the year this weekend in Merrillville, Indiana."
