The Monmouth University women’s bowling team earned a first place finish at the Wacky’s Baker Challenge on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Holiday Bowl in Oakland, NJ to secure the team’s first win of the fall season.
The Hawks posted a total pinfall of 6,116 to best the squads from Nassau Community College and Stevens Institute of Technology, knocking down an average of 873.7 pins over seven rounds with a high score of 929, low of 713, and team score average of 174.7 across 35 Baker games.
Junior Jenna Lehrer led Monmouth with a 45.6 percent strike percentage and went a perfect 17-17 on single-pin spare conversion attempts. Freshman Brillian Soedarmasto was another key player for the Hawks, converting on a team-best 80.6 percent of spare opportunities. Junior Mafe Aguiluz added 24 strikes to secure the victory for Monmouth.
The following weekend, the Hawks traveled to Houston, TX to compete in the Track Kat Klash hosted by Sam Houston State. The three-day competition began on Friday, Nov. 4 and ended on Sunday, Nov. 6.
The team finished 13th overall out of 20 teams, averaging 180.4 pins per game after going 7-6 over the course of the competition.
The three-day event began with Baker matches against Southern, Prairie View A&M, Alabama State, Nebraska, and Texas Southern. The Hawks posted victories in three of the five matches, defeating Southern, Prairie View A&M, and Texas Southern. Monmouth’s highest pin total in Baker format was 1,042 against Texas Southern. This matchup also saw the Hawks’ largest margin of victory – 120 pins in the 1,042-922 win.
Saturday’s competition saw five Traditional matches for Monmouth against Louisiana Tech, Tulane, Alabama A&M, Lincoln Memorial, and Sam Houston. The Hawks earned victories over Tulane and Alabama A&M.
Monmouth finished the three-day event with three final matchups in Championship play on Sunday against Texas Southern, Southern, and Lewis. The Hawks posted a 2-1 record on Sunday after earning consecutive wins over Texas Southern and Lewis.
The No. 23 ranked Hawks defeated two nationally-ranked opponents during the weekend competition: No. 17 Tulane on Saturday in Traditional play and No. 20 Lewis in Sunday’s Championship play.
Lehrer paced the Hawks individually with a 36th place finish, averaging 191.8 over five Traditional games. She led Monmouth with a 235 high game in Traditional match play, one of the junior’s 200+ games of the competition. Jamie Phelan finished shortly behind Lehrer in 39th place with a 189.8 average, including a high game of 210. Siyah Sweeney rolled a high game of 212 and placed 62nd with an average of 174.6.
Looking ahead, the Hawks are set to return to competition on Friday, Nov. 11 at the two-day MEAC Meet No. 1 in Millsboro, DE.
The men’s golf team wrapped up their fall season with a third place finish at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Championships at Montclair Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 31 and Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Four Hawks fired 72 in the final round to secure Monmouth’s best round of the weekend. The 288 in their final round was good for Monmouth’s best team round of the fall season.
Erik Stevens earned a 10th place finish after posting 73-72, the first top-10 finish for a Hawk since Stevens did it earlier in October at the Bucknell Invitational, when he posted a sixth place individual finish. His top-10 finish at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate marks his tenth career top-10 finish and second of the season.
Stevens’ 73-72 put him just ahead of teammate Matt McCormick who was one shot back in 12th place.
Freshmen Ethan Lee and Alexander Dalmau both shot 76-72 to tie for 14th, while Sophomore Colin McCullagh rounded out the Monmouth lineup. Travis Dix and Colt Ingram both competed individually for the Hawks, with Dix tying for eighth after opening with even-par 70 and Ingram closing with 73.
“Today I believe we played our best golf of the fall season. I wish we had another tournament next week but it’s great to finish on a high note. The team played very good golf on a difficult course. We have a talented team and are already looking forward to the spring season,” said Head Coach Bill Britton on the team’s performance.