BOWLING

The HU bowling program kicked off their season this past weekend in Grand Rapids (Mich.) at the Cornerstone University Tournament with both teams finishing fourth. The tourney format was five traditional team games and 12 Baker games.

“We felt this was a solid start for both teams to start the season,” said Coach Mike Shockey. “We definitely have some things to work on, but we have a team that hasn’t been shy about working hard and staying determined.”

After losing a large senior class to graduation last season, the Forester women’s team came into the season with a few unknowns, but those questions were quickly answered on Saturday after a gritty performance despite a slow start.

The team found themselves in tenth place after two games but quickly settled down to start their climb in the standings to eventually finish fourth out of 13 varsity teams with a total pin count of 6216. Sophomore Brooklyn Suzuki led the women with a 14th place finish out of 101 bowlers. She averaged 175.4 for five games with a total pinfall of 877.

“I wasn’t surprised by our slow start but didn’t expect it to be quite that slow,” noted Shockey. “Once we got comfortable, spare shooting and shot making as a whole really improved. This team is going to be competitive this year as long as we make spares and stay true to what we are good at.”

On the men’s side, Huntington spent most of the tournament near the top of the standings to finish fourth out of 14 teams with a total score of 7541.  Freshman Dale Horstmann led the Foresters with a sixth place finish out of 114 bowlers. He averaged 222.6 with a total score of 1113 for five games. Freshman Dominic Montoya and senior Matt Foutz also turned in solid performances by finishing 11th and 12th respectively.

“The men are coming into this season with revived competitive spirit,” said Shockey. “They still have a lot of momentum from the end of last season and the freshmen have come in this year ready to work.

“I was proud of the guys. They fought hard and never quit. They are going to be a fun team to watch as they develop and get better every week.”

Next up for Shockey and crew is an AHBA Tournament in Canton (Mich.) on October 28-29.