FAIRVIEW, Ill. - The SNU Men's and Women's Teams wrapped up the first half of the season making a trip to Fairview Heights, Illinois for the McKendree Collegiate Team Match Games, the second Tier I event for both teams.

The Crimson Storm Men's Team put a great effort together on Day One earning the 4th place position after five Individual Team Games on Saturday. SNU was led by freshman, David Swavely, who averaged 212.2 and made a run for the All Tournament Team. "David just could not get dialed in during game five on a very demanding lane pattern, said Coach Jeffreys. "David has worked extremely hard on his game over the past six weeks and I was not shocked by his performance on the low scoring lane pattern. He has become a player that is rapidly learning the off the lane prep necessary to have a successful tournament. He loves the game and that is a big part of the process to become a better player and a great teammate. I am so glad his is a part of this program. Swavely finished 9th and Connor Anderson finished 15th in the individual standings out of 220 players.

Three other players surpassed the 200 average line during the Individual Team Play, Gavin Taylor, 200.4, Tobias Hurte, 203.4 and Connor Anderson, 206. "It was a definite challenge to finish plus on this 1.4 ratio pattern," said Coach Jeffreys. "The work that we put in at practice prior to leaving for the event made a huge difference during day one of the event. Our lane man, Jim Foster went above and beyond to help the team get ready for this event. Foster is a big part of our success this season."

Day two consisted of 20 Baker Format Games on the same challenging pattern. "We really struggled early on the pattern and could not get things going on the fresh pattern," said Coach Jeffreys. "Games three and four were probably our worst Baker games this season and we just could not get a good read on the pattern. A big reason for such a poor performance during game three and four is on me for not being clear to the players on the moves that should have been made after game three. It was somewhat surprising that a big move left was necessary to get a better ball reaction off the breakpoint so early in the Baker format. Once again, this is a learning process that not only the players are experiencing but the Coach is experiencing with the players."

The SNU Men's team dropped to 8th place after the 20 Baker games but, two top eight performances in Tier I events for a year one program is unheard of in College Bowling. "I am so proud of what this Men's Team has done in seven events, said Coach Jeffreys. "The drop from 4th to 8th in the McKendree event is totally on me. I have always said that communication is a huge part of having a successful event and I just was not clear on the necessary adjustments that needed to be made during the Baker games. Still, a fantastic start to year one for the SNU Men's team."
 

Prior to the McKendree event, the SNU Men's team was ranked #8 in the USBC Collegiate National Rankings for Week #9.

The SNU Women's team finished 13th out of 19 teams at the McKendree Match Games event.

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