onefrombills
11-23-2008, 05:12 PM
Hello everyone, my name is Dean Richards. I am a 2008 Junior Team USA member and a sophomore at Lindenwood University. I will be writing throughout the season in order to provide a bit of insight into the world of college bowling. Welcome to my first installment!
Being a collegiate athlete is amazing. Having Friday-Sunday off to travel makes the homework grind during the week tolerable and go by much quicker. But when you're on the lanes, you get the thrill of competition. There is no better feeling than seeing your team come together to win a tournament. There isn't a worse feeling than opening in the tenth frame to lose a tournament, only to have to drive six hours back to school. But, this is what collegiate bowling is all about, the chance to represent your school colors in competition.
So far this season, there have been some exciting moments and some interesting mistakes. At two tournaments this season, house patterns have accidentally been dressed on the lanes, leading to some high averages. Two Tier 1 events have taken place thus far with the St. Louis Team Match Games just around the corner Nov. 28-29. My school, Lindenwood, grabbed a Tier 1 title at the Hammer Midwest Collegiate by making a huge comeback during the last Baker set.
Central Florida took down the Brunswick Southern tournament easily with the help of their anchor, Shawn Naumann. Nauman is making a strong case for Player of the Year, leading in average differential and ranking third in overall average.
McKendree's JR Raymond is another leading candidate thus far. Raymond is in his first year at McKendree after transferring from Saginaw Valley State, where he won a national title with the Cardinals in 2007. He helped his new team win its first tournament of the year, the Boilermaker Classic, which allowed the Bearcats to take home the LU-McK rivalry necklace.
Still, you can never count out Saginaw Valley's Dan Maclelland, who is the reigning Player of the Year. He is accompanied at Saginaw by collegiate bowling rookie and Junior Team USA member Toby Sambueno, who is my pick to win Rookie of the Year. Sambueno made the all-tournament team in each of his first three collegiate events.
So, who are my favorites to win the team events this season? With Wichita State losing some key members off their championship team from last season, it has made this season even more competitive. Still, Wichita has Will Barnes and John Szczerbinksi returning, and they've added an all-American transfer student from Fresno State, so they just might have something to say about a repeat.
It is early in the season, but Lindenwood, Wichita State, Saginaw Valley and Central Florida are my early favorites to be taking down many of the men's team events. It's a long road to Rockford, and there isn't a single team that doesn't want to prove they belong on that list, so the competition should be intense.
Until my next update, let's hope that the mechanics put out the correct patterns or that I learn how to bowl better on house conditions...
Being a collegiate athlete is amazing. Having Friday-Sunday off to travel makes the homework grind during the week tolerable and go by much quicker. But when you're on the lanes, you get the thrill of competition. There is no better feeling than seeing your team come together to win a tournament. There isn't a worse feeling than opening in the tenth frame to lose a tournament, only to have to drive six hours back to school. But, this is what collegiate bowling is all about, the chance to represent your school colors in competition.
So far this season, there have been some exciting moments and some interesting mistakes. At two tournaments this season, house patterns have accidentally been dressed on the lanes, leading to some high averages. Two Tier 1 events have taken place thus far with the St. Louis Team Match Games just around the corner Nov. 28-29. My school, Lindenwood, grabbed a Tier 1 title at the Hammer Midwest Collegiate by making a huge comeback during the last Baker set.
Central Florida took down the Brunswick Southern tournament easily with the help of their anchor, Shawn Naumann. Nauman is making a strong case for Player of the Year, leading in average differential and ranking third in overall average.
McKendree's JR Raymond is another leading candidate thus far. Raymond is in his first year at McKendree after transferring from Saginaw Valley State, where he won a national title with the Cardinals in 2007. He helped his new team win its first tournament of the year, the Boilermaker Classic, which allowed the Bearcats to take home the LU-McK rivalry necklace.
Still, you can never count out Saginaw Valley's Dan Maclelland, who is the reigning Player of the Year. He is accompanied at Saginaw by collegiate bowling rookie and Junior Team USA member Toby Sambueno, who is my pick to win Rookie of the Year. Sambueno made the all-tournament team in each of his first three collegiate events.
So, who are my favorites to win the team events this season? With Wichita State losing some key members off their championship team from last season, it has made this season even more competitive. Still, Wichita has Will Barnes and John Szczerbinksi returning, and they've added an all-American transfer student from Fresno State, so they just might have something to say about a repeat.
It is early in the season, but Lindenwood, Wichita State, Saginaw Valley and Central Florida are my early favorites to be taking down many of the men's team events. It's a long road to Rockford, and there isn't a single team that doesn't want to prove they belong on that list, so the competition should be intense.
Until my next update, let's hope that the mechanics put out the correct patterns or that I learn how to bowl better on house conditions...