Top-Five Finish for William Penn at NAIA Nationals

Sterling Heights, Mich.--The William Penn women's bowling team wrapped up its 2024-2025 season with an impressive performance at the NAIA National Championship on Thursday and Friday, finishing among the top teams in the nation.

The Statesmen posted a 1-2 record, advancing to the fifth round before being eliminated.

William Penn secured the No. 4 seed in qualified with a total of 4,810 pins across 24 Baker games, while top-seeded SCAD Savannah (Ga.) posted a score of 5,332 pins.

Due to their strong qualifying performance, the Statesmen earned a first-round bye and faced off against No. 12 seed Morningside in the second round. William Penn took care of the Mustangs, winning four of the five games (206–156, 220–180, 200–152, 194–211, 223–220) to advance to meet the No. 8 seedSpring Arbor.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen ran into a tough opponent in Spring Arbor, which had previously defeated top-seeded SCAD Savannah. William Penn struggled in the matchup, falling 4-1 with game scores of 194–188, 175–200, 169–190, 187–202, and 186–187, sending them to the consolation bracket.

In the consolation round, William Penn faced Heart of America Athletic Conference foe Mount Mercy. The Statesmen fought hard but ultimately lost 4-2 with scores of 152–189, 201–170, 196–151, 167–143, 223–176, and 195–208 to end their tournament run.

Unofficially, William Penn finished in a tie for fifth place, marking its second-best finish in program history. Spring Arbor went on to claim the national championship.

The team roster included: Kelcey Aczon (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Nursing), Isabel Diaz (Sr., Kissimmee, Fla., Fine Arts), Danielle Fincham (So., Surprise, Ariz., Exercise Science), Sammantha Meyers (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Elementary Education), Lucy Mitchell (So., Poulsbo, Wash., Psychology and Human Services), Olivia Nolte (Sr., Atkins, Iowa, Elementary Education), Olivia Pilcher (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Exercise Science), and Caitlin Radliff (Sr., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering).

"The girls bowled really well at NAIA Nationals. Their shot execution, energy, and communication were on point, which led us to have a first-round bye. We won our first round, but the next two rounds posed the challenge of getting our bowling balls to go through the pins the right way to strike," Head Coach Kirstin Foster said.  "The girls battled hard, but we just couldn't get the pins to fall for us. We ultimately lost to the eventual champion of the tournament as well as the No. 1 team for the regular season, so we are not upset with losses like that as we challenged those teams. The girls ended on a high note, which is all we could ask for."