This past weekend, the Warhawks competed in their second conference tournament of the season. After winning their first conference tourney of the year, the varsity team steamrolled their conference rivals yet again, getting first place by a healthy margin. This is the second tournament win for first year head coach Brandon Mooney, and the season is off to a great start.

This was the second of four conference tournaments this year for the Great Lakes Bowling Conference. The varsity team finished 1st overall in a field of 21 teams with a score of 6054, which was over 150 pins higher than the second place finisher. Along with varsity wins, the Warhawks also had two JV teams competing. The JV2 team finished with a score of 5455, finishing first place overall, and the JV1 team finished with a score of 5300, which was good enough for a second place finish.

“As a young team, it is important to gain experience on these challenging patterns, as well as bonding together more and more, which will be a huge factor as we get closer to postseason,” said senior human performance major Drake Bazzy, who described the tournament as “very important.”

Individually, the team saw a lot of success from Bazzy, who finished second place overall with a 207.83 average, as well as Junior Garrett Meadows (5th place overall with a 205.33 average). Both men were named to the Men’s All Tournament Team. This is Garrett’s second consecutive ATT, and this is Drake’s seventh overall ATT.

The varsity team also saw great success from freshmen Luke Winter and Robert Vater. In Winter’s five individual games, he finished with a whopping 222.4 average, and Vater finished with a respectable 190 average in his three games. As the only two freshmen on the varsity team, they have been thriving under the pressure. Vater has been on the varsity squad for every tournament this season, and this was Winter’s second appearance. However, after his dominant showing this past weekend, he has all but secured his spot on the varsity roster for tournaments to come.

Winter has described his performance as “amazing.” “To be on the varsity roster as a freshman is an amazing experience, and I am glad that I was able to make the most of the opportunity,” said freshman business major Luke Winter.

Although the team this year is one of the youngest in the history of the program, boasting 10 freshmen out of the 24 members of the team, they have had no signs of regression after winning the ITC National Championship last season. 

Through four events this season, the Warhawks are currently ranked number 7 overall in the nation, but they are set to move up after their tournament win this past weekend.

The team will look to continue its hot start at the Leatherneck Classic in two weeks. While it was unsure how well the team would do with a new head coach and young roster, these guys have stepped up to the plate, and show no signs of slowing down!