WPU Athletics
Wade Steinlage, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications

TOPEKA, Kan. – The William Penn women’s bowling team made history by taking the first-ever Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships crown Saturday and Sunday.

WPU qualified second out of six teams with 4,400 pins in 24 Baker games.  Mount Mercy earned the top seed with 4,445 pins.

By virtue of being in the top two, the navy and gold earned a bye in the first round.  They then advanced easily into the championship round via 4-1 victories over both Baker and Mount Mercy.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen were upended by the MMU 4-1 in the first championship match to force an ‘if necessary’ best-of-seven battle.

WPU rolled out to a 3-1 advantage, but the Mustangs responded to knot the match at 3-3 and push it to a winner-take-all seventh round.  The Statesmen came away victorious, however, slipping by 188-187 for the title.

Video of the winning shot can be seen at https://twitter.com/i/status/1102356630275047424

The conference title is the third for the program and first since winning the Midwest Collegiate Conference crown in 2011-2012.

Team members included Nicole Craft(Jr., Wakefield, Neb., Physical Education),Abbey Fangman(So., Waterloo, Iowa, Elementary Education),Kaylee Gerken(Sr., Dubuque, Iowa, Elementary Education),Kayla Gifford(Jr., Camanche, Iowa, Biology),Jaelynn Klein(Fr., Muscatine, Iowa, Communications),Jade Klinefelter(Cedar Rapids, Iowa),Nicole Mottier(So., Madison, Wis., Computer Science),Amber Ovel(Sr., Waterloo, Iowa, Psychology), andBailey Palmer(Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Biology).

“I extremely proud of our ladies, as well as Coach Hoff,” Head Coach Brandon Brooks said.  “They showed grit and class on the lanes this weekend that was unmatched.  This team was at one point in last place in qualifying, but had a “no quit” attitude, eventually making a huge run to sneak into second place for qualifying and get the first-round bye.”

“They bowled excellent on Sunday as well,” Brooks added.  “Despite losing the first match to Mount Mercy, they bounced back to take the title.  The seniors really stepped up to close the tournament, but it was a whole group effort to capture this one.  Everyone stayed positive and continued to make great shots and fill spares all the way to the end.”

Next Up:William Penn travels to Dallas, Texas for the USBC Intercollegiate Team and Singles Sectional next Friday through Sunday.