Wauwatosa, Wisc. - The 2023-24 Notre Dame Falcons' women bowling season got off a strong start, finishing 7
th in a Tier I Tournament against some of the top collegiate bowling teams in the country. NDC lost to Mount Mercy in the semi-finals but, overall, had a very good weekend. On the men's side at Bowlero Wauwatosa, the NDC men got off to a slow start against the super talented teams in this tier I field and never had a chance to recover in time to make the cut.
On Saturday, during the regular games, there were many highlights as NDC had five bowlers roll games over 200. The players topping the 200 threshold in the regular games were
Olivia Johnson, with a 204 game, senior
Hannah Klein, leading with games of 216 and 206, and senior
Sarah Benedict also consistent all day long, topping out with a 216. The highlight of the day was a monstrous game in the 6
th and final game of 1,116, averaging just over 223 per bowler. Leading the strike barrage in that game was
Olivia Brace with a 267 and
Rachel Foreback with a 254. The last game vaulted the NDC women from 11
th to 6
th place leading into the Sunday baker games.
On Sunday's baker games, the games where five bowlers share a team game, the NDC Falcons managed to hold their own for a good stretch of the day. The women's team had some up and down games, but managed to hold onto 7
th place which was good enough to make the elimination cut of 8
th place in a very talented field. The highlights of the baker games were a first game 216 with a flurry of strikes, and also a fantastic 'baker clean' game (no open frames) of 236. The Falcon's day came to an end by losing to Mount Mercy in the semi-final games.
Leading the men's team with a 202 average,
Aiden Compton had team high games of 235 and 256. Freshman
Hunter Brackman pitched in with a 200 and 223 game. Seniors Mikey Wiese and
Connor Gallagher threw games of 223 and 210, respectively.
Alex Etheredge also had games of 215 and 202.
Both of these talented young men's and women's team's will have their next tournament in Indianapolis, next weekend, for the Columbia 300 Western shootout.
