Newman Jets Bowling News & Headlines
2006-07 Season News(Click on story heading to read story)
Going into Post Season Both Teams Still Ranked in Top 20
Newman Lady Jets after a strong consistent second half of the year, are going into sectionals ranked 9th in the BWAA poll. With seven top five finishes the Lady Jets are looking forward to the post season and continuing their quest for a National Championship.
The men's bowling team after an inconsistent season are going into Sectionals with a new attitude to prove that they can make it to Nationals and are still one of the top teams in the country. They are currently 18th in the BWAA poll.
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Jets Do Well in First Two Tournaments of 2006-07 Season
Newman Jets first tournament of the year took place in Milwaukee, WI. This year the team has a whole new look with only two returning players. With Joe Branson leading the first tournament averaging 199, the men’s team took 9th place. For the Lady Jets it was a good team effort to start the season finishing in 5th out of 21 teams.
The second tournament was the Mid-States Classic held here at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, KS. The men were in 5th place after the first day 360 pins behind the first place, Wichita State. On Sunday, they came out strong from 5th finishing in 2nd only 140 pins back. The team was lead by David Montgomery, who averaged 211, won the singles event and finished 3rd in all events making the All-Tournament team. Freshman Derek Hartnell averaged 210 and received high game award for the tournament with a 299. The Lady Jets, as well, had a good performance finishing in 3rd place. They were lead by Elizabeth Brents with a 185 average and Georgia Wiggins with a 188 average. Both of them made the All-Tournament team. Georgia also lead the field and won the singles event.
After two tournaments, both men’s and women’s teams are off to a good start. They are looking forward to a great rest of the season. The next event is Oct. 28-29 in Fairview Heights, MO.
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USBC Intercollegiate Championship Men's Runner-Up
After qualifying 3rd in Rockford, IL, the men took on Western Illinois in the first round beating them 4 games to 2. This win earned the men a second round match-up against Fresno State, the 2nd ranked team in the country. The match went to a 6th game where the men came out on top. This earned them a match against the defending national champions Lindenwood University.
The Newman men came out on fire and swept Lindenwood 4-0 to advance to the semi-final match. For the semi-final match, Newman was paired against Lindenwood again. Lindenwood came out early to take a 2-0 lead; however, the Newman men came back winning the next 3 games. Lindenwood then won a very close 6th game, but in the 7th game Brandon Frazier, Justin Crumley, and Cory Simmons all struck out in the 8th, 9th, and 10th frames to earn Newman its first championship title match.
In the title match, even though the men bowled well they lost the first game 201-189. Following that game, the men fell 176-174. The runner-up finish is the highest the program has ever achieved. Cory Simmons was named to the All-Tournament team, as well as being named tournament MVP.
The women's team qualified 11th matching them up against the 2nd ranked team in the country, University of Central Florida. In this match, the women came out strong and bowled well, but lost 4-2 knocking them into the contender's bracket. In their next match, the women face Ball State where they defeated them 4-1 earning a match up with 4th ranked Pikeville College. This match went into an extra 8th game where the Pikeville ladies defeated Newman 4.5-3.5 games. The ladies finished in a tie for 9th place giving them a top 10 finish three years in a row.
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Men Make Histroy With 1st Tournament Win
The weekend of the 20th was a historic weekend for the men's team. In South Bend, IN at the Blue and Gold Classic the men gave their best performance of the year with a tournament win, leading the field all but two games of the tournament. The team won in dominant fashion by 168 pins over Morehead State.
This was also the best team performance of the season with 4 of the 5 team members averaging over 200. They were lead by David Montgomery and Cory Simmons with a 206 and 205 average, respectively.
Coach Murphy commented, "This is a great start for the second semester. As we lead into two more tier one tournaments in Las Vegas and Indianapolis, we are hoping that this will help us stay tuned up for the post season."
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First Half Highlights - 05-06
The season began with Newman University hosting its 1st home tournament. Mid-States Collegiate Championship was held October 22-23 at Northrock Lanes here in Wichita, KS. This very competitive tournament consisted of a strong field of five of the top ten teams in the country. For both the Newman teams this meant a 2nd place finish.
From there the teams traveled to Belleville, Il to compete in the Illinois State BPA Classic. This tournament proved to be quite successful for the men's team. They had a strong performance finishing in 3rd behind defending National Champion Lindenwood followed by Wichita State.
Next up was the National Team Match Games in St. Louis, MO over Thanksgiving weekend. At this tournament, Cory Simmons dominated the field in individual average. He was selected as the MVP with a cumulative average of 237, far surpassing the remainder of the field.
The women's team had their shining moment at the Leatherneck Classic in Rock Island, IL. Their impressive performance paid off with a 3rd place finish losing to the eventual champion, the Lindenwood Lady Lions.
The final tournaments of the first half were all the way in Stratford, NJ and Allentown, PA. At the Keystone Quaker Classic, the men's team had an amazing performance coming back from a 200 pin deficit in the final eight baker games. Unfortunately, the team fell 20 pins short of their first title to Saginaw Valley. The ladies also finished with a 4th place finish behind three of the top ten teams in the country.
From all of these solid finishes the men are ranked No. 12 and the women No. 17 in the country by the NCBCA Poll released on December 20.
Looking forward, the teams are starting to come together. They are eager to compete in the 1st tournament of the second semester in South Bend, IN for the the Blue and Gold Classic.
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Intercollegiate Bowling Championships
April 20-24
Another year came to a close for the men's and women's bowling teams. At the year's end, the men were nationally ranked 10th and the women 15th. In their second year at Newman both the Men's and Women's teams qualified for the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships (IBC). The tournament is double-elimination with teams of all sizes from all over the nation.
The men, new to the IBC, impressed veterans and newcomers alike in their exceptional finish. The first round match against West Texas A&M put the men into the loser's bracket after a tough 4.5-3.5 loss. With their new determination, the men then defeated Pikeville College 4-2. In the third round the men faced defending national champions, University of Kansas. This match became the highlight of the tournament for the men by defeating the University of Kansas 4-1. Continuing on into the 4th round the men's team defeated Vincennes University 4-2. In their final match, they met West Texas A&M one more time to put up a great fight. The men were defeated 4-2 in the final round securing them a 5th place finish and a match play record of 3-2.
In their second appearance in the IBC's, the women put up a great fight. The first match, against West Texas A&M, gave the women a 4-1 defeat. However, in the second round the women faced and defeated a tough Purdue University team 4-3. Going into the third round the women were paired with Missouri Baptist. Though the women fought hard, Missouri Baptist defeated them 4-2. This allowed the women to repeat last year's outstanding performance with a tie for 9th.
Head Coach Billy Murphy is very pleased with their successful second season. With 13 returning varsity players, seven from the men's team and six from the women's, Murphy can only continue to look forward as the program continues to post great results.
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Collegiate Singles Championships
May 22-24
This year Newman was proud to qualify two bowlers for the Collegiate Singles Championships, both from the women's team. Elizabeth Brents and Bianca Montagnino made the trip Milwaukee, Wisconsin to compete in the tournament. The women faced the very tough competition with great confidence.
Brents defeated Lindenwood's Jonica Matson 3-2 in the first round. In the second round she was defeated by Connie Shiver 3-0. Brents finished 9th in a field of 16 competitors.
However, Montagnino kept climbing all the way to the championship match. Montagnino began her run by defeating Kayla Bandy from Pikeville 3-1 in the quarter finals. She continued on in the semi-finals to defeat 1st Team All-American from Central Florida, Stefanie Nation, 3-2. In her final match, Montagnino defeated University of Kansas player Kelly Zapf for the championship title. Her win made her the second Newman bowler to win a national championship.
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