The inaugural season for the SNU Men’s Bowling Program concluded with the Crimson Storm’s first trip to the USBC Collegiate Sectionals on March 9th and 10th, 2024 trying to earn a trip to Nationals in April. The format for the ITC Sectionals in Ft. Worth, Texas is 64 Baker format games over two days. 16 games in the morning session and 16 games in the afternoon session on both days.
The ITC Sectionals is made up of four Sectional locations across the Nation with 20-22 colleges and universities trying to earn the top four positions and punch their ticket to Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky in April. The Crimson Storm was ranked #27 in the Nation in the final USBC Rankings and were the #8 ranked team in the Ft. Worth, Texas Sectional.
Day One of the ITC was an eye opening experience for the Crimson Storm. “Yes we are a very young team but the realization of the level teams must perform was very visible our first 16 games,” said Coach Jeffreys. “The 15 minutes of practice is so critical for a good start with the lane pattern unknown while the ITC is taking place. Our inexperience in identifying the best way to attack the lane pattern was present. It was a rough start and that’s on me. I should have done a better job of communicating to the players what was developing with the lane pattern. I trust this group a lot when it comes to reading and reacting to a lane pattern and a developing lane patterns and we worked really hard in practice to gain knowledge and experience on seeing how lane patterns develop on the fresh. Chalk it up to experience and a lesson learned. There are so many variables in becoming a good player and a good coach at reading and reacting to lane patterns. Class was in session our first 16 game block.”
The slow start by the Crimson Storm resulted in a 16 game total of 3,028 with an average of 189.25 and a 14th place position after 16 games. “We had a meeting after the first 16 game block and discussed our plan of attack in the afternoon session,” said Coach Jeffreys. “We have battled adversity all season and we have found a way to bounce back after an uncharacteristic performance. There were a ton of games remaining and I felt confident we were going to make a run.
The Crimson Storm was back on track during the next 16 games. “We averaged 201.81 during the second 16 game block and worked our way to 9th after 32 games,” said Coach Jeffreys. “We did a much better job at reading the progression in the lane pattern and only had 7 missed makeable spares in 16 games. We also had some help from Jaxson Green scouting our lane movements to give us some insight on what to expect on the pair of lanes we would move to after each game. We had zero games under 170 and managed to have 5 games over 215. Our second block showed what this team is about when it comes to adversity.”
When block #3 began on Sunday, there was a new approach to attack the fresh oil pattern and Crimson Storm got off to a great start going 226, 220, 190, 206 the first four games on the block. “We had a game plan and the players did a great job of executing the plan of attack on the fresh oil pattern,” said Coach Jeffreys. “Then we struggled. We had a run on 7 missed makeable spares and 6 splits in four games. You just can’t do that in this event or any event and earn a spot in the top positions. But, like all year, we bounced back with games of 257, 232 and 243 to end the block averaging 196.31 and movement into the 8th position with an outside shot of making the Top 4 and earning a trip to Nationals.
On to the final 16 games. A solid start with the first 7 games between 193 and 218. But the Crimson Storm just could not get a string of big games in the final 16 game block and finished with a 202.81 average for the final 16 games. “There were a ton of great and gutty things that happened on the final block,” said Coach Jeffreys. “We had two players that were bowling with injuries and they showed a gritty performance battling though injuries. Tobias Hurte and Connor Anderson gave all they had and were a big part of the rally and have been all season long. When you have to go to the bench we were fortunate that Nate Shannon stepped up in a critical time and threw some big shots. It was a fantastic effort for this entire group.”
So, the Crimson Storm ended up 7th for the 64 games of ITC action in Ft. Worth, Texas. It should be noted, SNU was the highest finishing year one program out of all four 2024 Sectionals. The SNU finish was the highest ITC Sectional finish for a year one program since Webber International in 2009. In 64 games the SNU Men’s Team went 36-28 and 11-5 in their final 16 games.
“This group is amazing and I am really proud of what they have accomplished as a team,” said Coach Jeffreys. “It’s pretty cool to bring in players from all across the nation and in their first season in 12 events, including two Tier I events and the ITC Sectionals, our least best finish was 8th in Fairview Heights, Illinois. What an outstanding effort by every single member of this program. I would like to thank the parents for their support of our program on and off the road trips. I would also like to thank our AD, Danny Thomason and our VP, Dr. Redwine for the amazing support of this bowling program. A big thanks for Kim and Tim Denny for the use of Holiday Lanes, our practice facility. A special thanks to Brian Knighten of Knighten Industries, Cowen Construction, Brent Conway, Shane Hamilton, Doug Humphrey and all the Metro Oklahoma City Bowlers that participated in the SNU Summer Games. I have been a Coach for a long time and this was one of the best years of my coaching career. Yes the 2023-2024 season has concluded, but I can’t wait for August when we return to action with some new student athletes and a huge goal, MAKE NATIONALS!"
FINAL STANDINGS
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