On Thursday, Oct. 29th, the SNU men’s bowling team hit the road early to travel to Springfield, Missouri, for a head-to-head matchup against Drury University.
The Panthers, led by head coach Ted Barbee, have gotten off to a great start this season, including a ninth-place finish at the Mid-States Tier 1 in Wichita, Kansas.
Following CBAA rules, the event began with four games of singles competition, in which SNU bested Drury 44-28. The next stage featured four games of doubles, which proved to be a much closer contest as the two teams tied 36-36. The final stage consisted of baker games, which were shortened due to time constraints. SNU ultimately secured the victory, outsourcing Drury 95-79.
The match took place at Sunshine Lanes in Springfield, a center with more than six decades of history dating back to its opening in August 1960. This was the men’s team’s first away match of the season. The SNU women’s team had previously defeated McPherson University in October.
One of the highlights of the matchup came from sophomore Riley Speer, who averaged 245.5 across the 10 games of singles and doubles competition. Speer reflected on the experience.
“The whole event was a lot of fun to bowl,” Speer said. “Drury has improved significantly from last season and they gave us a really good fight, it was a really good tuneup for Marietta.”
Sophomore Trevor Trousil also had a strong performance, averaging 228.3 across his four games of doubles competition. He discussed what made traveling for the matchup different from previous away competitions.
“It was definitely a different experience,” Trousil said. “We played a head to head away against Dallas Baptist last year, but we were very familiar with their team and their strengths. This was definitely a unique team to match up with.”
The victory was an important rebound for the team after its loss to Muskingum at the Crowne Classic in September. The matchup against Drury gave the team an opportunity to demonstrate its growth, both mentally and physically.
The men’s team will continue its season with three consecutive tournament weekends in November. The schedule includes a tournament in Marietta, Georgia, on Nov. 7-8, SWIBC 3 and 4 on Nov. 14-15, and Match Games in ST. Louis on Nov. 21-22.
The team’s next confirmed head-to-head matchup is scheduled to take place at SNU against Dallas Baptist University.
Photo by: Jack Perrett