STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Milligan University's women's bowling team got their 2025-26 season under way on Saturday and Sunday in Michigan, as the squad took part in the Midwest Collegiate Classic. After leading the entire 42-team pack at the end of qualifying, the squad dropped their first match play contest to finish in the top eight at the tournament.
A total of five team games and 16 baker contests made up the format for day one qualifying, and bracket play would follow on day two for the top eight teams in the standings.
Emily Cheesman had a phenomenal performance to begin her campaign, as she placed second overall as an individual and was named to the All-Tournament team. She was able to topple 1,045 pins in five team games and finished just 19 pins behind the eventual champion. She bowled a 244 in the second team game as her top output.
Laci MacQuisten finished the weekend in 11th, scoring a total of 995 pins in the same five-game stretch. Her best performance was a highly impressive 233 in the third team game.
In 38th,
Emilee Horton bowled a 222 in her final team game to reach a total of 941 pins as the third Milligan finisher.
Emily King also finished in the top 50, placing 42nd with 937 pins knocked over and a top score of 215 in the third team contest.
Gianna Bringham also finished in the top 100 in 84th.
Milligan had the best team game pin total at 4,805 and had the fourth highest total in baker contests during qualifying with 3,011 to reach 7,816 pins as the tournament leader after qualifying. They entered match play against No. 8-seeded St. Ambrose and fell 2-0 (164-215, 186-227) to end a strong opening weekend.
"The team showed a lot of grit this weekend," said head coach
Brian Rickert. "Sitting through a long delay and still finding a way to perform at a high level says a lot about their maturity and focus. We led qualifying from start to finish, and while we came up short in match play against St. Ambrose, this group proved we can compete with anyone."
The Buffs now have a pair of weeks to prepare for the Greater Nashville Open and Brandon Burns Memorial on Oct. 25 and 26, respectively, in Smyrna, Tenn.
RESULTS
MATCH PLAY
