ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It was a big weekend for the University of Pikeville bowling program, as both teams qualified for the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships and one bowler made the cut to compete for the Intercollegiate Singles Championship next month in Las Vegas.
 
In order to qualify for the ITCs, a team has to finish in the top four of one of four sectional qualifiers. Both UPike teams finished second in the Allen Park Sectional.
 
To compete for the singles title, a bowler has to enter the ISC qualifier and post one of the top 24 scores of those competing in the four tournaments being held around the country.
 
In Allen Park, nobody was better than UPike's appropriately named Andrew Allen.
 
Allen, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio, posted a six-game score of 1431, and is the top qualifier out of the Allen Park sectional. He finished 51 pins ahead of the second-place finisher, Colin Hunter of Bowling Green State University.
 
Allen will now compete in the ISC tournament, which will be held in conjunction with the ITCs  April 14-19 at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.
 
The University of Pikeville men's bowling team rallied in the final 16-game block on Sunday to finish second in the Allen Park sectional to advance to the ITCs.
 
After 48 games of qualifying, the Bears were third, trailing Muskingum (Ohio) University and Marian (Ind.) University. But when the 64-game event was finished, the Bears had a score of 13023, trailing only Muskingum's 13224.
 
Also qualifying from Allen Park were Marian, with a score of 12776, and Lawrence Tech (Mich.), which posted a score of 12750.
 
Those four teams will compete for the national title against the four qualifiers from Smyrna, Tenn. – Webber International (Fla.), SCAD, Milligan and Trine (Ind.) – from Addison, Ill. – St. Ambrose (Iowa), Calumet (Ind.), Mount Mercy (Iowa) and Wisc.-Whitewater – and from Dallas – Oklahoma Christian, Wichita State (Kan.), McKendree (Ill.) and Newman (Kan.).
 
The women's bowling team settled into second place in the second block on Saturday and remained there the rest of the tournament to easily advance. North Carolina A&T took the top spot in Allen Park with a score of 12719, just in front of UPike's 12691.
 
Also advancing from Allen Park were Mount Saint Mary's (Md.), with a score of 12369, and Saint Xavier (Ill.), which posted a score of 12315.
 
Qualifying from the other sectionals were Jacksonville State (Ala.), SCAD, Maryville (Tenn.) and Stephen F. Austin State (Texas) from Smyrna; Mount Mercy, Louisiana Tech, Judson (Ill.) and Wisc.-Whitewater from Addison; and Sacred Heart (Conn.), Newman, Central Missouri and Lindenwood (Mo.), from Dallas..
 
Lindenwood finished the 64 games with a score of 11900, edging out McKendree, which finished at 11895, qualifying by only five pins.