LAWRENCE, Kan. - After finishing fourth in the qualifying rounds, Ottawa held off an upset-minded Hastings College squad in the semifinals to finish second in the Jayhawk Collegiate Classic at Royal Crest Lanes.
Ryann Clark and
Brooklyn Peck both posted top-10 finishes individually for the Braves, with Clark's 998 tied for seventh and Peck's 977 good for 10th after Saturday's individual rounds.
"This weekend showed where we need to put our focus," said head coach
Geoff Poston. "We have a long way to go and I'm happy with all their effort. We will continue to get better and use this month to focus on our weaknesses. Both teams finished 2nd place which was nice to see. However, we need to clean up some things and we will."
Ottawa turned in a consistent performance throughout the competition, with a first-round 925 putting the Braves in second. A slight falter in the third round saw OU drop briefly to third, then despite recovering for a 957 in the fourth round, 1,000-pin totals from McPherson in the fourth and University of Saint Mary in the fifth kept Ottawa pinned in fourth place going into Baker play.
The Braves climbed to third after the first Baker set and into second after the fourth round, but a pair of late stumbles (143 in the 14th, 176 in the 16th) combined with big scores by CMU and Baker saw Ottawa fall to fourth.
Ottawa was able to collect a 3-1 first round win over Culver-Stockton College, then held off no. 8 seed Hastings by a 3.5-.5 margin after the Broncos upset no. 1 seeded McPherson.
Unfortunately, the Braves weren't able to sustain the momentum against Central Missouri in the final, falling 3-1.
On the junior varsity side, Isabel Wong and
Kylee Busch again finished in the top 10, with Wong claiming the top overall spot with a pinfall of 969. Busch felled 901 pins through the opening five rounds to finish fifth, and
Camryn Lenz joined the top 10 as well, finishing eighth with a pinfall of 862.
Unfortunately, the Braves weren't able to hold off Central Missouri during Baker play, as the Eagles surged from a 75-pin deficit to a 79-pin cushion to leapfrog Ottawa. OU was able to comfortably hold off McPherson, however, to claim second.
Next up for the Braves is a trip to Columbia, Mo., for the Cougar Clash on Dec. 5-6.
