Bowling Back in Action After Break

The Erie Community College men's and women's bowling teams were back on the lanes this weekend for their first matches of the spring semester.

Coach Dave Zajac said of the two events, "Another grind this weekend for both teams, especially with these being our first 2 events in nearly 6 weeks."

On Saturday the teams competed in the Greater Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic.  The women finished in eighth place while the men ended in ninth. Haley Benkleman, Maura Noonan and Lydia Murphy were the top ladies for Erie finishing the day 29th, 30th and 31st out of 74 bowlers.  On the men's side, Marc D'Amico was the leading Kat, bowling 593 pins to finish in 14th place.  Riley Falsone and Zach Budzynski also finished in the top 25 at 22nd and 23rd respectively.  

Both teams then competed in the Western PA Baker Shootout on Sunday.  The men jumped up to finish in 4th place with the ladies maintaining their eighth place spot. 

"The lady's supported each other all weekend through the highs and the lows against the challenging patterns. This was highly encouraging as we head towards our championship events," said Zajac. 

"The guys had a rough go on Saturday, missed spares and splits were compounding factors in their finishing position. Sunday they had a few games scattered throughout the day that were below their and our expectations. However, headed into the 6th block of baker games, they mounted a charge towards the top shooting their best baker set of the year (232-212-202-213). Unfortunately, the teams ahead did just enough to keep their positions with the Kats missing medalling by 42 pins after the completion of the 28 baker games."

The teams will have a few weeks to regroup before they compete in the Roseland Lanes Open on February 8th in Oakwood, Ohio.