COLUMBUS, Ohio--The Adrian College women's bowling team turned in one of its best performances in program history over the weekend, coming in second place to nationally No. 9-ranked Urbana University at the Ohio State University Buckeye Baker Classic held here at H.P. Lanes.
Adrian knocked down 6,421 pins for fifth place out of 14 teams, but finished in the top-8 to advance to the match play round. The Bulldogs were seventh after 18 baker games on Saturday.
"We showed that we can bowl with the top-ranked teams in the country. The team has made vast improvements and continue to show that we are one of the best teams in the country," stated Adrian coach John Essenmacher III. "We are peaking at the right time of the year, and I can honestly say we have a great shot at making it to nationals this year with the way we came together this weekend."
Match play started off against No. 4 qualifier Alma College, which was 55 pins better than the Bulldogs. But the quarterfinals were a different story, as the Bulldogs won the decisive third game, 183-170, to advance past the Scots.
In the Semifinals, Adrian squared off against the sixth-ranked team in the nation in Division II Notre Dame College out of Ohio, which led the whole tournament with 7,307 total pins. Undaunted, the Bulldogs spotted NDC a 1-game-to-none lead before tying the series with a 188 to 141 win. In the third game, Adrian earned the upset, 177-138, to reach the Finals.
The championship match was a nail bitter for the duration, which was best three of five games. Adrian darted to a 1-0 lead after taking the opening stanza by a convincing 212-165 margin and the teams tied 229 in the second game. Then Urbana won the next two games, 189-178 and 237-184, to go up 2-1-1. The Bulldogs stayed alive, 227-158, to force a winner-take-all Game 6 roll-off, but Blue Knights caught some breaks to edge the Bulldogs for the tournament crown.
The Bulldogs, who are nationally ranked 21st in the latest CollegeBowling.com poll, return to the lanes on Saturday and Sunday for the American-Heartland Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Tournament #3 in Wickliffe, Ohio.
Match-Play Quarterfinal Round 1--#5 seed Adrian vs #4 seed Alma
Game 1: Adrian 194, Alma 169
Game 2: Alma 193, Adrian 185,
Game 3: Adrian 183, Alma 170 (ADRIAN WINS 2-1)
Match-Play Semifinal Round 2--#5 seed Adrian vs #4 seed Notre Dame College
Game 1: NDC 289, Adrian 164
Game 2: Adrian 188, NDC 141
Game 3: Adrian 177, NDC 138 (ADRIAN WINS 2-1)
Match-Play Finals--#5 seed Adrian vs #2 seed Urbana University
Game 1: Adrian 212, Urbana 165
Game 2: Adrian 229, Urbana: 229 (tie)
Game 3: Urbana 189, Adrian 178
Game 4: Urbana 237, Adrian 184
Game 5: Adrian 227, Urbana 158
Game 6 (ROLL-OFF): Urbana 233, Adrian 194 (Urban wins, Adrian finishes runner-up)
(Editor's note: Photos were provided by the team)
