Pair of Top-10 Individual Finishes Lead Statesmen at USBC Sectionals

Fort Worth, Texas--The William Penn women's bowling team gained valuable experience in preparation for the upcoming NAIA Nationals, competing at the USBC Sectionals held from Friday through Sunday.

Sammantha Meyers (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Elementary Education) led the team at Singles Sectionals with an impressive individual performance, surpassing 200 pins in five of her six games, including a high of 257. Despite her strong showing, she ultimately finished in seventh place with a total of 1,281 pins, missing qualifying for the USBC Singles Nationals by just four pins. 

Catlin Radliff (Sr., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering) followed closely behind, securing 10th place with a total of 1,275 pins, highlighted by her personal best of 288 pins in one game. 

Kelcey Aczon (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Nursing) was next in line, maintaining a consistent performance with an average of 182.0, totaling 1,092 pins, while Olivia Pilcher (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Exercise Science) finished with 1,077 pins, averaging 179.5 per game. 

Olivia Nolte (Sr., Atkins, Iowa,  Elementary Education) knocked down 1,064 pins, while Danielle Fincham (So., Suprise, Ariz., Exercise Science) added 1,025 pins to the team total. Rounding out the squad was Lucy Mitchell (So., Poulsbo, Wash., Psychology and Human Services), who tallied 972 pins.

The team then competed in the Team Sectionals event Saturday and Sunday, where the Statesmen bowled four rounds of 16 Baker games. The Statesmen knocked down a total of 11,330 pins, finishing 11th out of 18 teams. 

The top four teams advanced to nationals, and while WPU's ranking fluctuated throughout the rounds, it ultimately finished at its highest placement of the weekend.

"Saturday was a rough day, but we turned it around Sunday. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, but we took Sunday to work on things before NAIA Nationals," Head Coach Kirstin Foster said.  "Sunday was much better with energy, communication, and shot execution so we are going to take that with us into NAIA Nationals."

Next Up: William Penn will head to Sterling Heights, Michigan, next Thursday through Sunday, March 20-22 to compete in the NAIA National Championship.