By JASON KETZ
Sports Editor
(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — The Jennies bowling team hosted the Mid-America Individual Championships Feb. 25 at the UCM bowling center inside the Elliott Student Union. The Jennies were coming off of a runner-up finish at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Classic Feb. 19-21.
“It’s nice to be able to play here at the Union,” said Ron Holmes, Jennies head bowling coach. “It gives the campus an opportunity to see what these ladies can do in competition.”
UCM had four bowlers who earned top five finishes including junior Samantha Roberts, who was crowned the overall champion; junior Justyne Falbo, who won the individual singles title; freshman Mikhela Bakle, who placed fourth in the singles competition; and the team of Roberts and freshman Mackenzie Saulnier, who finished second in the doubles competition.
“It gave the team an opportunity to compete in a setting that tends to be a little bit tougher,” Holmes said. “The format of this tournament challenges them where they have to rely on their own personal skills instead of a teammate helping to guide them.”
Junior Justyne Falbo followed up her fifth place finish at the Warhawk Classic with an individual singles title by bowling games of 258, 229 and 192 for a total of 679 – which was good enough for a 21-pin victory.
“Each tournament I learn from my mistakes,” Falbo said. “I excel off of what I did right to grow into a better player whether I see the lane differently, catch the tranistions better and that helps me to become a better bowler week-to-week.”
“The biggest thing with Justyne is trying to keep her healthy,” Holmes said. “She’s battling a wrist injury this spring so it has been a challenge to find the right mix of competitive opportunities for her but also not stressing the injury too much.”
Bakle was the only other Jennies to place in the top five of the individual singles competition placing fourth. Bakle bowled games of 215, 219 and 202, for a total of 636.
“Mikhela has made some real nice progress in the spring,” Holmes said. “Being a freshman she has not had a lot of competition opportunities, so it was really nice to see the progression that she has made.”
In the doubles competition, the team of Roberts and Saulnier combined for second place with a total of 1,165 pins, finishing behind Lindenwood’s Casey Goettel and Erin Michelfelder.
“That’s an example of a younger player (Saulnier) being able to work with one of our more experienced players (Roberts),” Holmes said. “They’re on separate sides of the lane but the communication methods and trusting of each other worked out.”
In the overall competition, Roberts took home the crown with a total of 1,292 pins with Falbo finishing in third place – just three pins behind Michelfelder.
“Samantha has done a real nice job for us in starting and spot rolls,” Holmes said. “In this opportunity, she was able to truly go out and play and take advantage of some of her skills being a left-handed player and I was pleased to see some of that advancement.”
“Personally, I was very happy with my performance,” Roberts said. “I like to focus on one shot at a time in order to stay in the moment and luckily pin carry was also on my side.”
The Jennies are off until March 18-20 where they will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Vanderbilt Music City Classic.
