BOWLING

The Forester bowling team concluded their season over the weekend at the USBC Sectionals where the men took 9th and the women finished 11th.

The tournament format was shortened due to COVID restrictions, but still proved a grueling test for all teams. The format is traditionally 64 Baker games over two days but was shortened to 40 games. The top four teams from each of the four sectional sites move on to the ITC tournament.

The HU men finished with a total score of 7442  for a 186 per game average on their way to a 9th place finish out of 18 teams. It was tale of two days for the Foresters.

“Day one proved our game plan for attacking the conditions to be wrong which cost us several games while trying to regroup and adjust,” said Coach Mike Shockey. “The team was in last place after the poor start, but the guys do not know what the word quit means. They fought hard and started climbing back up the standing sheet.”

Day one left HU in 14th place with a score of 3598. A new day brought a new plan and a commitment to go all out. The team kept climbing up the standings and managed to shoot a few big games along the way including a 287 and 261 game during the day.

“The guys shot an amazing 246 pins better day two with 3844 pins and a final finish of 9th place,” noted Shockey. “This was the best finish at sectionals for the men in program history. The guys have bowled well in practice all year.

“Something clicked for us at the Western Shootout and despite the poor start to sectionals, we still finished higher than previous years. Coach Miller and I are really proud of the guys and are looking forward to big things next season with most of the team returning.”

The women’s field consisted of 16 teams with HU posting a total score of 6914 for a 172.8 per game average.

“It was the wrong weekend to have a bad weekend, but that is what happened with the ladies,” said Shockey. “We struggled all weekend to find the right match-up with angles and bowling balls.

“It really showed us a couple areas we need to work hard on over the summer going into next season if we want to take the team to a different level.”

Huntington was consistent in their scoring day to day having  shot 3483 on day one and 3431 on day two. Their consistency was also evident in that Shockey’s crew started and ended in the 11th spot.

“The guys bowled in the morning and it gave us a chance to learn some things about the kind of shot they would put out for the women,” said Shockey. “We tried to implement the things we learned for the ladies, but the level of shot making needed to make the lines work just wasn’t there.

“After one of our best team meetings Saturday night, we came out with a clearer plan of attack and we just struggled to get the bowling ball to roll through the pins the right way for big scores.  The ladies still had a good season and like the guys, have most of the team returning next year. The program as a whole is moving in a great direction and could quite possibly take a big step forward next season.”