WICHITA, Kan. - After a lackluster opening game that saw them in the tail end of the field - 23rd out of 31 teams - Ottawa surged to seventh entering Baker play and earned the no. six seed for bracket play. The Braves continued to ride a wave of momentum, advancing to the championship against Wichita State University, tying the first game and picking up an upset in game four to finish second overall.

"It was a good tournament for the men. We ended up getting into the matchplay and losing a close final to Wichita State," said head coach Geoff Poston. "This field is always stacked, and I look forward to us backing this last weekend's performance with another good one this weekend."

The weekend got off to a rough start for the Braves, as they finished Saturday's first game with a total of just 871 pins, leaving them in 23rd place and staring at a huge climb. Jordon Zitek and Kenji London were the only braves to post scores over 200 in the first line for Ottawa.

Zitek led the Braves in a huge turnaround in the second game, finishing just 16 pins shy of perfection with a 284, the fourth-highest individual score across the 214-man varsity field. 

"I had high expectations coming into the season, and this past weekend showed exactly why," said assistant coach Michael Maida. "The guys showed a lot of heart and fight this weekend, the results from the weekend is proof of what a team can do when they are fight for each to achieve one common goal. In order to maintain this level of success we need to continue that mindset, keep working hard, and never get complacent."

After jumping from 23rd to 16th following the second round, Ottawa again leaped from 15th to ninth following a huge fifth game that saw the Braves post a team pinfall of 1,050. Through Baker play, Ottawa was consistent, with a standout line of 279 in the 10th set boosting OU to sixth.

The Braves made quick work of Newman University in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 (221-151, 197-188, 184-188, 234-166) win and bested Quincy University 3-2 (215-223, 257-222, 175-201, 183-167, 171-156) in the semifinals.

Opening the championship match against NCAA powerhouse Wichita State, Ottawa held its own with a 169-169 tie, before dropping the second (183-166) and third (235-213) games. After a 211-199 win in the fourth game gave the Braves a glimmer of hope, the Shockers managed to pick up the match win with a 207-189 win.

Individually, Zitek finished tied for sixth with a pinfall of 1,294 in traditional play for the Braves.

A pair of junior varsity squads also competed for Ottawa, finishing ninth and 14th in the field with team pinfalls of 7,757 and 6,679 respectively.

Ottawa is a bit closer to home next weekend, competing in the Wildcat Invitational at Gage Bowl in Topeka, Kan., on Oct. 24th and 25th.