Statesmen Squads Once Again Heading to Lonestar State for Sectionals
Oskaloosa--The William Penn bowling teams will once again travel south as it competes in the USBC Intercollegiate Team Sectionals.
The women and men, ranked No. 13 and No. 31 respectively in the USBC rankings (RANKINGS LINK), will be in Fort Worth, Texas on March 8-9 for the event at Cityview Lanes. The tournament is a Baker format consisting of 64 total games--32 each day.
The other sectional tournaments will be held at Smyrna, Tenn., Allen Park, Mich., and Addison, Ill.
The top four teams from each of the four sectionals advance to the Intercollegiate Team Championships held on April 16-19 at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas, Nev.
The four sites will also host the Intercollegiate Singles Sectionals on March 7 with individuals bowling six games. The top 24 men and the top 24 women--top four from each sectional plus eight additional bowlers based on size of field at each location--advance to the Intercollegiate Singles Championships that begins on April 14.
The WPU women have not missed a sectional event in program history (16-for-16), while the men are making their 15th trip in 16 campaigns. The men are attempting to qualify for nationals for the seventh time, while the women are looking for their fourth appearance.
MEN
On the men's side, Mount Mercy is the top seed and will headline the Addison field, while No. 2 Webber International (Fla.) is going to Smyrna. No. 3 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) will be the top-ranked squad in Allen Park.
No. 6 Newman (Kan.) leads the Fort Worth grouping, while No. 8 Oklahoma Christian is also in the top 10. According to the rankings, William Penn is the 10th-best team in the field.
The Fort Worth sectional includes 20 teams. The men's field includes (alphabetically):
No. 38 Arizona State
No. 54 Avila (Mo.)
No. 66 Baker (Kan.)
No. 29 Fresno State (Calif.)
No. 40 Coe
No. 43 Cumberland (Tenn.)
No. 27 Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
No. 24 Hastings (Neb.)
No. 25 Lindenwood (Mo.)
No. 12 McKendree (Ill.)
No. 6 Newman (Kan.)
No. 8 Oklahoma Christian
No. 44 Ottawa (Kan.)
No. 16 Purdue (Ind.)
No. 51 San Jose State (Calif.)
No. 42 Southern Nazarene (Okla.)
No. 72 Texas A&M
No. 55 Texas-San Antonio
No. 19 Wichita State (Kan.)
No. 31 William Penn
Aidan Piet (So., Meridian, Idaho, Business Management) enters the postseason as William Penn's top male bowler with a 209.6 average.
WOMEN
On the women's side, Mount Mercy is also the best team in the nation and is going to Addison. Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) is No. 2 overall and will top the Smyrna field, while No. 3 Pikeville (Ky.) is going to Allen Park.
No. 4 Lindenwood (Mo.) will headline the Fort Worth field, while No. 6 Coe is also in the top 10. WPU is next, ranking third amongst the programs going to Texas.
The entire 18-team event includes (alphabetically):
No. 72 Alabama-Birmingham
No. 53 Avila (Mo.)
No. 67 Baker (Kan.)
No. 75 Central Missouri
No. 6 Coe
No. 60 Columbia (Mo.)
No. 15 Cumberland (Tenn.)
No. 32 Culver-Stockton (Mo.)
No. 50 Hastings (Neb.)
No. 4 Lindenwood (Mo.)
No. 65 McKendree (Ill.)
No. 44 McPherson (Kan.)
No. 33 Newman (Kan.)
No. 56 Oklahoma Christian
No. 18 Ottawa (Kan.)
No. 23 Sacred Heart (Conn.)
No. 49 Spring Hill (Ala.)
No. 13 William Penn
Caitlin Radliff (Sr., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering) headlines the women's squad with a 195.8 average.
Sectional assignments are based on Team Ranking System (TRS) points. Fields are determined by taking geographic distance, economics, and field size into consideration. To sort teams evenly throughout each sectional, the USBC attempts to place no more than two of the top eight schools and no more than four of the top 16 schools in a sectional based on final TRS totals.
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