Kansas City, MO – The Patriots men's bowling team are headed to the official NAIA National Championship for the first time in the program's career. Cumberlands was one of five teams to earn an at-large bid, as they did not automatically qualify during the conference tourney.
UC have multiple top-three placings on the year, placing second at the Lincoln Memorial Collegiate Challenge, and a third-place finish at the Brunswick Southern Collegiate Classic. The Patriots have five bowlers averaging 190 pins or more per game.
Charles Wilken leads the way with an average pinfall of 198.5 through 36 games.
Austin Montgomery and
Bryce Frantz are averaging 195.35 and 194.92 while
Thomas McNeal and
Robert Borowski tally 193.89 and 190.96 pins per game.
Head Coach
Kevin Reigle had this to say about his team's accomplishment, "We're so excited to make the NAIA National Tournament field. This has been our goal all season and the guys have worked very hard this year to make it happen."
Only 12 teams across the nation will be attending this year's championship in Sterling Heights, MI. The MSC has four teams attending, more than any other conference this year. UT Southern and Pikeville earned automatic bids after finishing first and second at the conference tournament, while Tennessee Wesleyan earned an automatic bid.
The championship will open with baker play to decide seeding at 7 AM CT on Thursday March 24
th. Once seeding is confirmed, the brackets will be set, and teams will compete through a double-elimination style tournament to decide the 2022 NAIA Champion.
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