ACU Faces Stiff Competition in Vegas

Bowling | Wed, Dec. 22, 2021

Las Vegas- The ACU bowling team traveled to Las Vegas’ South Point Lanes for one final tournament to close out 2021. The Firestorm competed in a Tier-One USBC Collegiate competition at the Collegiate Shoot-out Tourney which took place over four days and drew top teams from across the nation.  ACU placed 34th out of 42 teams for the overall final scoring.

Coach Dallas Bivins said, “Yes, very difficult oil patterns, as these Tier-Ones are always hard. They really want to push the bowlers to their best.” He continued, saying, “On the plus side, this was our first really big national tournament, with the very best bowlers. After a shaky start, we settled down, and we did finish 7^th out of the western US schools, beating Kansas, Texas A&M and Kansas State to name a few.”

First-year player Payton Workman finished as the high ACU bowler, followed closely by Brock Bivins and CJ Todeschi. Xavier Watkins, David Waybright, and Jacob Ellis also contributed for the Firestorm. As Coach Bivins stated, the oil patterns on the lanes proved difficult, but ACU also struggled to work as a team. There were some positive takeaways for the team though as they encouraged one another to stay focused during the competition. During Baker play, the team rallied to Coach Bivins challenge to “stop playing nice with each other and step up to the plate. Encourage one another and hold each other accountable!” During the final Baker games, the team found its rhythm and averaged in the 190s.

Encouraged by their performance against difficult competition, the ACU bowlers continue to build an experienced team. As iron sharpens iron, the larger and more competitive experiences the team goes through sharpen their teamwork and competence in high levels of competition. ACU returns to action January 15^th and 15^th against ASU and GCU.

Roll Storm!!