The UW-Whitewater bowling team took 15th place in the Warhawk Classic Nov.10-12 with an 8-5 record at Sheridan Lanes in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The No.11 Warhawks started out the weekend by winning three of its five Baker games Nov.10.  In the first day the Warhawks averaged 176.9 points per game and scored 4,423 points total.  

The Warhawks defeated No.10 Central Missouri, No.16 LIU Brooklyn and Maryville before losing to No.2 Nebraska and No.14 St. Francis (PA).  The 3-2 record for the day left the Warhawks sitting at fifteenth place going into the second day of action.

In the second day of the tournament the Warhawks played five traditional games and finished with a 3-2 record on the day.  The Warhawks recorded wins over Valparaiso, Lincoln and No.9 Sacred Heart but fell to top-ranked McKendree and No.8 Farleigh.  

Juniors Emma Kuhn and Lauren Price led the Warhawks in scoring average with personal averages of 197.0 and 196.6 which placed them at 29th and 30th in the meet out of 142 total bowlers.

Freshman Karlee Barton bowled four of five games and finished with a 182.5 point average, which was good for 68th place.  Freshman Mary Conneely and sophomore Kailee Tubbs each bowled three games and finished with averages of 196.0 and 195.33 which was good for 78th and 79th place respectively.

“We have a really young team,” head coach Leann Sullivan said.  “It’s kind of tough because of all the excellence we’ve had in the past. We have a lot of freshman athletes who’ve been stepping up, and who did all weekend.”

On the final day of the meet the Warhawks won two best-of-seven Baker games to finish up the tournament with a 2-1 record on Sunday and an 8-5 overall record for the tournament.  

The final day started with a 4-1 victory over Valparaiso before falling to LIU Brooklyn by a score of 4-3 and concluded with 4-2 victory over Elmhurst.  The tournament featured 13 teams ranked in the top 20 nationally by the National Tenpin Coaches Association.  The Warhawks finished the weekend with a total pinfall of 12,538 pins, an average of 184 pins per game.  

“It was cool to see their intensity on the lanes and see them grow as athletes,” Sullivan said. “Lauren (Price) and Emma (Kuhn) bowled phenomenally all day in the four and five spots. Lauren struck out multiple times for us to get some wins. Total pinball didn’t reflect how well we bowled as a team.”

The Warhawks will host the Warhawk Open, a United States Bowling Congressional Tournament, at the Stardust Bowl in Addison Ill. on December 2nd and 3rd.