Beavercreek, OH- The Men's Bowling team shipped out to the Orange and Black Classic over the weekend to start their 2019-2020 campaign. The A team completed in a field of 33 schools from the region, and the B team competed of 12 schools. Both teams bowled strong throughout the two day event, with both teams making the cut for match play. The A team finished 7th out of the 33 team field, and the B team had a great run through match play, and finished 2nd out of 12 teams. The varsity squad shot 8,270 on the day, and the jv shot 7,427.
A Team:
When the varsity squad were locked in, they were unstoppable. This was highlighted in their 2nd team game on Saturday. The team shot an 1184 team game, meaning the team average for the game was a 236.8. No bowler shot below a 213 in that game. Another 1100+ game in Game 4 helped cement the Colonials as a contender in match play. The team grinded through the baker games, not gaining or losing any positions in the standings entering match play. They entered as the 7 seed, and were facing 2 seed Lawrence Tech in a best of 5 baker game series. The Colonials would drop Game 1, but fight back hard with a 216 in Game 2 to win by 2 pins. A tough loss in Game 3 put them down 2-1 in the series. Despite a 207 in Game 4, it wasn't enough to force Game 5, and the Colonials dropped in the first round by a series of 3-1. Lawrence Tech would go on to finish 2nd in the event.
This season's opening roster looked a lot different than was expected in the preseason. Two freshmen made the starting lineup for the Colonials, Mike Barvinchak and Antonio Willar. Both had strong performances, particularly Willar. His 999 5 game series put him in the Top 50 for the event, and averaged a 199.8. However, it was the veterans of the squad that elevated the team to their 7th place finish. Jonathan Kleer, Josh Marks, and Brendan Flanagan all shot over 1000 on Saturday's 5 game set, all having them in top 50 while averaging over 200. Kleer's 249 and Flanagan's 247 were their highest games of the day. Kyle Wilkinson did not start, but made the most of his opportunity when he got in the game. He started team game 4 for Mike Barvinchak. In the 2 games he got to bowl, Kyle rolled a 236 and a 206 to average 221 over the 2 games.
B Team:
The JV squad slid under the radar a bit for the weekend, but were impressive all weekend. The team put up some strong scores during the team game segment of the event, having multiple 950+ game totals. At the end of the first day, the team ranked 6th but were within striking distance of moving up. Bakers went well for the team, as they improved to 4th in the standings thanks to their effort. This allowed them to get lane preference for the first round of match play against the University of Northern Ohio. In a high scoring first round match, the team swept UNOH 205-200, 223-197, 203-202. Freshman Cole Aloia came up huge in game 3 with two strikes and a 7 in the final frame to give RMU the one pin edge and win the match. The semifinals were against top seeded Lawrence Tech, and the B team were able to get a little vengeance for the A team, bouncing LTU in 4 games. In the finals against University of Pikeville, the lane's became too inconsistent and the team fell in the finals 3-1. Still, it was a strong 2nd place showing for the Colonials B team.
Individually, freshman Cole Aloia had a massive weekend for RMU. His 278 in the first team game set the tone early for the team, and he finished in the Top 50 with a 1018 series. He averaged a 203.6 over his 5 team games and was the anchor for the team during the baker games. He was only 9 pins away from making all-tournament team for JV. Ryan Myers and Grant Egyed also had strong days for the team, putting up a 911 and 910 total respectively. They both finished top 100 with a 182.2 and 182 average through 5 games. However, despite how good his line was earlier in the event, it wasn't Myers who was a part of the match play run to the finals. The 2 spot in the lineup instead went to Derek Hartle. Derek, a late addition as the 15th man of the men traveling to Beavercreek, stepped up huge in match play. He closed every frame but 2 out of the 11 games bowled in match play, which totals up to 22 frames.
Final Results by Player:
A Team:
Jonathan Kleer: 5 Games Bowled, 1037 Pin Count, 207.4 AVG
Josh Marks: 5 Games Bowled, 1025 Pin Count, 205 AVG
Brendan Flanagan: 5 Games Bowled, 1008 Pin Count, 201.6 AVG
Antonio Willar: 5 Games Bowled, 999 Pin Count, 199.8 AVG
Mike Barvinchak: 3 Games Bowled, 551 Pin Count, 183.67 AVG
Kyle Wilkinson: 2 Games Bowled, 442 Pin Count, 221 AVG
Collin Whiteman: N/A
Brendan Lampo: N/A
B Team:
Cole Aloia: 5 Games Bowled, 1018 Pin Count, 203.6 AVG
Ryan Myers: 5 Games Bowled, 911 Pin Count, 182.2 AVG
Grant Egyed: 5 Games Bowled, 910 Pin Count, 182 AVG
Bradley Kokan: 4 Games Bowled, 663 Pin Count, 165.75 AVG
Derek Hartle: 3 Games Bowled, 486 Pin Count, 162 AVG
Bradley Daniels: 2 Games Bowled, 300 Pin Count, 150 AVG
Austin Trainor: 1 Game Bowled, 152 Pin Count, 152 AVG
Alexander Gagnon '21
Club Sport Information Director
