ADDISON, Ill. -- Needing to be one of four teams to knock down the most pins over a two-day span covering 64 Baker games between Saturday and Sunday, the University of St. Francis men's bowling team fell short of that goal, needing 690 more than its final total of 12,486 to claim the fourth and final bid from the Addison, Ill. Sectional to the US Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships April 14-19 in Las Vegas, Nev.

St. Ambrose University (12,701) beat out Calumet College of St. Joseph (12,481) by 220 pins to earn the first two berths.  Mount Mercy University claimed third place overall with a 13,313 pin-count, while University of Wisconsin-Whitewater squeezed past Indiana Tech (13,175-12,913) for the fourth and final position.

Twenty-one teams and 273 competitors in all made up the field.

A total of four sectionals across the nation took place this weekend with the top four teams from each tournament advancing to the 16-team USBC Championships at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas April 14-19.

USF will also be represented at the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships in Las Vegas earlier that same week courtesy of Ardani Rodas' dramatic eighth-place finish in the six-game competition.  The senior fell 106 pins shy of capturing the individual title, which was claimed by Wisconsin-Whitewater's Luke Winter with his 1,534-pin drop (255.7 avg.).  Rodas totaled 1,428 pins (238.0 avg.).

Rodas secured the finish by authoring six 200-plus games among his six total contests.  He saved his best for last with a 266, while helped in finish just one pin ahead of Mount Mercy's Zachary Joiner.  He also posted games of 257 and 247.

Four Saints in all placed among the top 25 percent of bowlers competing with Jacob Gunther being just four pins better than teammate Christopher Bald for 16th place.  Gunther dropped 1,368 pins (228.0 avg.) to Bald's 1,364 (227.3 avg.).  Bald placed 18th with his high game being an impressive 297.  Gunter's high was a 258.

Senior Joseph Madeja also fared quite well in his final sectional competition.  Madeja placed 66th with his 1,275 total (212.5 avg.).  He posted a 242 game and also had a 240.

Up Next
The NAIA National Championships in Sterling Heights, Mich. await the Saints next from March 20-22.

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