ADDISON, Ill. - The bowling teams wrapped up their fall semester schedule over the weekend at the Motiv Warhawk Open hosted by Wis.-Whitewater. According to head coach
Mike Eaton, the lane pattern proved to be extremely difficult for all teams and was by far the hardest of the season. In total, only nine men and two women would average over 200 in a field of hundreds of bowlers on each side.
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The women finished seventh out of 23 teams and advanced to the match play bracket. They totaled 8,057 during the tournament and faced number two St. Francis in their first matchup. After dropping the first game 211-206, the Panthers won the next two to advance by scores of 183-136 and 201-198. Merissa Batkins was in the anchor position and had to pick up the 10-pin on her final shot to win the match. DU faced Midland in the next round and won the first game 198-184 before being eliminated with losses in the next two by scores of 180-144 and 189-112.
Karine Bouchard had a fantastic tournament finishing sixth overall with an average of 188.8 in six games. She bowled very well in the middle games with a 215 and 216.
Carissa Richmond had one of her best showings this season placing 13th with an average of 183.8. She had a high of 228 and was bowling as part of the JV squad. Batkins finished 15th overall with an average of 183.1 which included a high of 211 in the third game.
Kasey Eaton finished 40th with an average of 174.8 with a high of 203 in the second game.
The men's team finished 13th out of 32 squads with a total of 8,298.
Brandon Hyska reached the top 10 which was a major accomplishment in a field of over 300 bowlers. He finished right at No. 10 with an average of 199.5. He started strong with 217 and 221 in the first two games of six total.
Lucas Buck placed 13th overall with an average of 198 which included a high of 243 in the second game.
Trevor VanPolen was the next Panther to finish in 76th place with an average of 174.2.
Nick Luther placed 90th with an average of 171.5 and rolled a 230 in the first game.
