Bowling Club Spotlight | Photo by Wright State University Organizations | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University’s (WSU) Collegiate Club Bowling is more than just throwing balls.
What is club bowling?
The Club Bowling team tryouts are held at the beginning of September, and the season lasts until April. The team is separated into two to three sections of bowlers each year depending on the roster of members on the team. The club is separated into the Men and Women’s Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) teams.
Each year the Club Bowling team competes in tournaments nationally, with the hope of placing in Sectionals, which precede the Collegiate Nationals and Collegiate Club Nationals in April.
“In March they cut to the top 80 teams that are ranked and then they split you up into four sectional groups,” said senior bowler Jonathan Ciero. “So you essentially walk in with 20 other teams at your sectional, they’re some of the best 20 teams in the country. They’ll send 20 teams to each of the four tournaments and then you bowl 64 Baker games over two days and then the top 16 teams go to Nationals.”
Core values
Students on the team learn about more than just bowling though.
WSU Club Bowling Program co-founder and Coach Jeff Fleck joked that at the end of their bowling tenure, they would have a minor in bowling.
“They learn leadership skills, a lot of mental skills and how to prepare under pressure. I think a lot of things that you can apply to move on in adult life and to have a career,” Fleck said.
Operating under the slogan “Team Before Me,” the bowling team adapts the skills to work fluidly as an individual and as a team.
“Even though we are all individual bowlers, we have to be good as a team to succeed, which is the beautiful part about bowling as a sport,” Ciero said.
Fifth-year bowler and first-year masters student Jessica Pitt commented on how the lub bowling team affected her college career.
“The team is a great way to meet friends. My first year it helped to ease a lot of stress. It’s actually how I met my boyfriend. It’s funny how a lot of things never would have happened if we hadn’t joined the club,” Pitt said.
What’s next?
With an approaching varsity team play at the Tier 1 Kegel Midwest Classic in Addison, Illinois on Jan.15 through 16, team members are aiming for a win to help boost their leadership scores in the preceding weeks before Sectionals in March.
The men’s team is currently ranked 24 in the nation, and the women’s team is close behind at 28 in the nation. After the high of their early conference tournament win at the American Heartland Bowling Association in October, Ciero has high hopes for the next conference tournament on Jan. 22 in Toledo.
“Our main goal is making Nationals this year but on top of it, we also get to go to our club national tournament every single year,” Ciero said. “We’d love to be able to do well and bowl while there and win.”
