SMYRNA, Tenn. (October 28, 2023) – The Milligan University men's bowling team opened its 2023-24 season at the Mid-South Conference Music City Open on Saturday. The Buffs won the junior varsity title and finished seventh of 17 in the varsity standings.
The one-day event format for the Greater Nashville Open was five team games and a dozen baker games. Milligan's JV squad topped the junior varsity standings and had the sixth-highest total for any team at the event with 7,313 pins. The Buffs' varsity squad cleared 7,158 pins.
"We have a talented men's squad this year but very young and I think their eyes were opened a bit as to the talented bowlers on many of the other teams we'll face this year," said head coach Brian Rickert. "It's tough to finish on top and you need five bowlers all locked in and unfortunately today we just couldn't get everyone together at the same time. We had some great games from
Nate Trentler, Josh Collins, a steady presence from
Alex Evans and others but just struggled at times to keep the momentum going."
David Gilliam led a trio of Buffs in the top 30 individuals with 1,065 pins (213 average) across five games. He notched four games over 200, including a high of 240 in his final game.
Nate Trentler placed 20th in men's individual standings with 1,052 pins (210.4 average) with a high game of 243.
Joshua Collins was 30th with a 204.6 average (1,023 pins) and had efforts of 229 and 243.
Xander Stephens (32nd, 203.4 average) and
Aiden Bailey 36th, 201.4 average) also averaged over 200 pins across five individual games.
Alex Evans averaged 199.0 pins across four games with a high of 221.
In baker play, Milligan's JV totaled 2,289 pins (190.75 average), the second-highest total in the junior varsity standings, with five games over 200 and a high of 220.
"It was exciting to see the JV1 squad take home the top spot today," said Rickert. "They fed off each other all day and were solid the entire day outpacing many of the varsity teams. Those five were locked in from the beginning of the tournament until the end. It shows how deep our roster is this year and the potential for a great season"
Milligan's varsity cleared 2,280 pins (190.0 average) with four games over 200 and a high of 215.
"Overall, I'm proud these guys and know we'll be ready tomorrow to see if we can get a little better result," said Rickert.
The Buffs return to action at the Smyrna Bowling Center for the MSC Brandon Burns Memorial.
