After qualifying in the United States Bowling Congress sectional tournament on March 13, the women’s bowling team will head to Columbus, Ga., to compete in the USBC team championships tomorrow through Saturday.

This is the second straight year the women have earned a trip to the championships. Last year they were eliminated in the second round after being seeded 10th out of 16 teams after Day 1.

“Last year was the first year we made it to [nationals] since I believe the 1980s, and the team has just got talented and talented over the years,” head coach Amber Lemke said. “It’s a huge accomplishment to make it two years in a row for this university.”

Senior Kayla Schmidt said she likes the team’s chances this season and expects a higher finish than last season.

“I think we will do better this year because we have a more solid lineup than we had last year,” Schmidt said. “We are more competitive and we want to show other teams that we deserve to be there again.”

The ’Hawks have had two freshmen who average more than 180, including Ashley Bell, who leads the team with an average of 196.94, and Katie Zwiefelhofer. They have been a big reason for the ’Hawks success thus far.

“Katie and Ashley both came in as high school standouts,” Lemke said. “They have really added a lot of depth to the team and contributed really highly and Katie actually qualified for the USBC singles as well.”

Another freshman who has been doing quite well this year is Katie Zwiefelhofer. Zwiefelhofer averages a 181.75, and will partake in the USBC singles championship after she qualified on March 10. The singles competition will be played in Texas on May 23-24.

The ’Hawks have relied on new women to step up all season, and Schmidt couldn’t be happier to end her career at the championships.

“We have had a lot of girls step up, new and returning, to help us get to where we are,” Schmidt said. “Even though where we placed in tournaments didn’t show it, we were consistent this whole year. It has been a great season to end my college career as a bowler and athlete at UW-Whitewater.”