BOWLING

The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) announced the sectional assignments for the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships with both Huntington teams earning a spot at the Stratford sectional in New Jersey.

The Foresters will compete at 30 Strikes Bowling Center on March 9-10. Other sectional sites include Smyrna Bowling Center in Smyra, Tenn.; Stardust Bowl in Addison, Ill.; and USA Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

The top four men’s and top four women’s teams from each sectional will advance to the Intercollegiate Team Championships, which will be held April 17-20 at Poelking Lanes South in Dayton, Ohio.

Sectional assignments are based on Team Ranking System (TRS) points earned throughout the season. USBC Collegiate 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 the final TRS totals. Sectional qualifier fields take geographic distance, economics and field size into consideration.

The sectional format consists of 32 Baker games each day for a total of 64 Baker games. Total pinfall for the 64 games will determine which teams advance to the ITC.

The four hosting centers also will conduct qualifying sessions for the Intercollegiate Singles Championships on March 8. Student-athletes at each of the four sectional events will bowl six games with 24 men and 24 women – the top four men and top four women at each sectional plus eight additional individuals based on field size – advancing to the national singles tournament on April 16-17 (qualifying and match play) and April 20 (semifinals and finals) at Poelking Lanes South.

Each sectional will be broadcast live at BowlTV.com.

In the latest NAIA national poll, based on the collegebowling.com power rankings, the HU women are ranked 14th and the men are ranked 20th.