Addison, IL – Women's bowling closed the books on the 2021-22 campaign in impressive fashion over the weekend, claiming third place at the USBC ITC National Championships. The finish puts a bow on a season that included five team victories and 25 top-five finishes between the varsity and JV units.

USBC ITC National Championships

After finishing fourth at the ITC Sectionals in March, the Bears advanced to the programs 18^th ITC National Championships. Qualifying rounds consisted of 25 baker games which determined seeding for the bracket. The Bears started out with a 177 but quickly caught stride, carding scores 240 and above in the third, fourth, and fifth games. All said, the Bears totaled 4672 pins to land eighth of 16 teams, claiming the eighth seed in the bracket.

The bracketsaw the Bears match up with No. nine seed SCAD-Savannah in Thursday's first round, sweeping the Bees 4-0.

Round two was (16) Delaware State, who had defeated Mckendree in the opening round. The Hornets played the Bears close but UPIKE was able to pull off the 4-3 win to advance to round five.

No. 5 seed Stephen F. Austin defeated the Bears 4-1 in the fifth round, sending UPIKE to the elimination bracket for a matchup with (4) Mount St. Mary's. The Bears won a close match 4-3 which forced a rematch with Stephen F. Austin in the semifinals. The Jacks defeated the Bears 4-2, moving on to defeat Witchita State in the championship match.

The Bears' third place finish is the best for the program since the 2013-14 season where they fell 0-3 to Robert Morris in the championship match.

Season Review

2021-22 opened in September with the Bowling Green Baker Shootout where the Bears took third in the field of 11 teams.

The Bears then fielded a trio of teams (varsity, JV1, JV2) at the Orange and Black Classic in Beavercreek, OH, claiming three podium finishes at the event. The Bears JV2 squad won their bracket of nine teams, totaling 6352 pins. In the varsity bracket, the Bears were narrowly edged by Lawrence Tech and claimed runner-up with 6945 pins.



The Western Shootout in Indianapolis saw the Bears claim their first varsity win of the season, coming at a tier 1 event. UPIKE dropped 8664 pins in the competition, beating out several nationally ranked opponents to take the title. Kristina Catoe was the individual champion with 1259 pins and was named MSC Player of the Week.

Next up were the back-to-back Lynne Jordan Memorial and Thomas Burris Memorial MSC events. On Saturday, the Bears JV squads took the spotlight, with JV2 once again claiming a win and JV1 finishing runner-up. The varsity squad landed 4^th of 21 teams.

The varsity team bounced back on Sunday, finishing runner-up at the Thomas Burris Memorial out of 19 teams. JV1 took the tournament crown in their bracket and JV2 finished runner-up.

Emily Tull was later named MSC Player of the Week after her fourth place finish at the Lynne Jordan.



The Bears next Tier 1 win came at the Bowlero Southern Collegiate Classic, totaling 10206 pins through six team games to take the title out of 17 teams. Vanessa Fuzie and Erica Warne earned All-Tournament Team distinctions following the event. Fuzie notched MSC Player of the Week honors for her performance.



Another win came two weekends later at the Southeast Matchplay Challenge where UPIKE beat out runner-up SCAD-Savannah by 62 pins. Nicole Gilbert, Kristina Catoe, and Pia Von Gierszewski finished first, second, and third, respectively. Gilbert's victory earned her first ever MSC Player of the Week honor following the weekend.



The Glenn Carlson Invitational in Las Vegas, NV was an impressive team event for the Bears who finished 2^nd of 31. The field was full of ranked teams, and saw the Bears land two individuals in the top-ten in Erica Warne and Kristina Catoe.



In the Las Vegas Shootout the following day, the Bears finished ninth of 32. Following the Vegas tournaments, Erica Warne was named MSC Player of the Week.

The first event of the new year was the Cincinnati Collegiate Classic where the Bears finished fourth of 17 varsity teams, the JV2 team finished 3^rd while JV1 finished 5^th.

At the end of January, the Bears took two more wins at the Crossroads League Bowling tournament, winning both the 2 and 3. JV2 finished first in both, while JV1 took runner-up. Catoe claimed her fifth career MSC Player of the Week award after her fourth and second place performances.



February brought the MSC Championships, where the Bears looked to earn back-to-back titles after winning in 2021. UPIKE fell to UT-Southern, finishing runner-up in a performance that qualified them for the programs ninth straight NAIA Championship.

Per usual, the Bears had a stellar showing for conference season awards, highlighted by Emily Tull who was named MSC Player of the Year. Andrew Dekowski claimed MSC Assistant Coach of the Year, while Erica Warne was named MSC Freshman of the Year. Savannah Croft, Gilbert, Catoe, Tull, Warne, Crider, and Fuzie notched All-MSC distinctions.



Just ahead of postseason play, the Bears competed in the colossal 50th Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis. The tier one event featured 65 teams, and the Bears nabbed fifth with a pin total of 5794. Stephanie Crider was the top finisher for the Bears, totaling 1233 pins to finish eighth.

Catoe, for the second consectutive season was named an NAIA First-Team All-American for the second consecutive season, capping a stellar sophomore campaign.