By Aime Rutayisire, Sports Editor
The Jet’s men’s and women’s bowling teams finished their seasons last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where both teams competed in the Intercollegiate Team Championships.
The men finished the tournament tied for 13th place, and the women tied for fifth.
Coach Billy Murphy said all the games were close and that the effort was there from the beginning, even though his bowlers didn’t get the results they wanted.
“The team that gets hot usually wins the tournament,” Murphy said. “They all bowled well, but it's more team scoring in tournaments like these.”
Murphy said that the men’s team was playing almost all underclassmen during the tournament because they had put in some of the season’s best performances. The lone upperclassmen, graduate student Noah Akiona, was a second team All-American this year. Akiona has been at Newman his entire career and earned three All-American honors during his time at Newman.
Murphy said that Akiona’s ability to be consistent was admirable.
“...Even when he’s struggling, he is very consistent in his scoring,” Murphy said. “It just seems like his bad days are still really good.”
The women bowlers won their first two matches on the first day of the tournament then lost their next two on the second day.
Freshman Claire Jacobson was named a member of the all-tournament team.
Murphy said what made him so proud of both teams was that they were all focused on their goals and worked hard for them.
“Their work ethic has been big,” Murphy said. “They set the threshold because there is a level of play that they expect from themselves.”
Another honor for the team: Murphy was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Newman Athletics
