The Illinois Wesleyan women’s bowling team opened up the 2021-22 season with the Warhawk Classic tournament hosted by UW-Whitewater from Saturday, November 20 to Sunday, November 21.
The tournament consisted of two days of play with ten total matches against Dominican University, Quincy University, Marian, UW-Whitewater, Carthage, Aurora University, Augustana and Carroll University.
The first day of the tournament consisted of five traditional matches against Dominican, Quincy, Marian, UW-Whitewater and Carroll. The Titans struck out in all five matches, heading into the second day of the tournament at 0-5.
Despite the losses, three Titans set personal career-highs during Saturday’s contest.
Senior Jade Miller managed a high score of 155 against Marian, beating her own record by 15 points. Sophomore Macy Michorczyk also set a new career-high, bowling a 169 against Augustana and passing her old record by five points.
Junior Alivia Catey set the highest new score for herself, flying past her previous high by 37 points with a score of 112 against Carroll.
“Even though we came in last place, it was still fun to get back out on the lanes and bowl in a new environment. This was a really good way to get back into the swing of things,” Buchmann said.
The second day included five baker matches against Carthage, Aurora, Dominican and UW-Whitewater. The Titans did not manage a victory at these matchups either. But, Buchmann is confident that the season will not end there.
“It was definitely a rough start to the season, but we’ve really improved overall as a team compared to last year,” junior returning member Sarah Buchmann said.
The tournament marks the beginning of the Titan’s second season competing. The bowling team was founded in 2020 by the assistant bowling coach Anthony Lunsford before being interrupted by COVID-19.
The Titans continued to bowl despite the pandemic, despite many other athletic events being postponed or cancelled. Because of the nature of the sport, most bowling alleys required masks until players approached the lane.
“Our team has been really great about staying masked up during practices and at our tournaments so far,” Buchmann added.
When the team was founded, it consisted of only six members. All six original members, including Michorczyk, Catey, Miller, Buchmann, junior Shea Atkins and senior Ashley Cook, returned this season.
The team also welcomed two new members, senior Oreo Beard and freshman Laina Chavarria.
“I know we’re going to continue to get better, but right now we do lack a lot of experience. Most of us started playing last year and Macy [Michorczyk] played in high school,” Buchmann said.
According to Buchmann, the team is optimistic about the remainder of the season after winter break. The Illinois Wesleyan women’s bowling team will head back to the lanes from January 21-23 at the Peacock Classic tournament hosted by Upper Iowa University.