Women’s Bowling places second at Tier 1 Roto Grip Keystone Classic

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (December 21, 2023) – The Milligan University women's bowling team finished as the tournament runner-up at the Tier 1 Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Classic on Wednesday and Thursday at Haja Rose Bowl in Pennsylvania.

"I felt that we've been pressing a little over our last two tournaments so I challenged the ladies to just be in a good mental 'pocket' where they are focused on every shot but ignore the 'other stuff' that tends to get in the way," said head coach Brian Rickert. "They really did a great job of managing the pressure and putting up good shot after good shot."

The tournament format featured five team games on Wednesday followed by 20 baker games on Thursday. Through five team games the Buffs sat fourth in the standings with 4,502 total pins, just 107 pins behind first-place Pikeville. After 20 baker games, Pikeville had 8,280 pins and Milligan finished a single pin behind at 8,279.

"It was so much fun to watch and I'm so proud of each lady on this team because they just kept pushing each other and our energy was infectious," said Rickert. We were down over 100 pins after day one and we didn't focus on the teams ahead of us but instead on our own scores."

Brianna Rickert notched a top-10 individual finish to lead the Buffs in the opening day of competition. She cleared 954 pins (190.8 average) across five games with a high of 227 to finish seventh.

"I just want to say that Brianna Rickert really was a solid presence over the course of the tournament," said Brian Rickert. "She was rock solid and really energized the group. Honestly, I could give many examples where every one of our ladies stepped up from freshmen Emily King and Braeton Wilson, Emily Cheesman, Allison Robbins, Emilee Horton, Laci MacQuisten and Taylor Davis. This was 100 percent a team finish!"

Emily Cheesman followed in 13th with 923 pins (184.6 average) and Taylor Davis made it three Buffs in the top-25 as she finished 23rd (894 pins, 178.8 average). Davis posted a high game of 203 and Cheesman a high of 201.

Emily King posted scored of 207 and 202 on her way to a three-game average of 187.0. Allison Robbins averaged 175.0 pins across four games. Laci MacQuisten notched a high of 212.

The Buffs averaged 188.85 pins across 20 baker games to jump Indiana Tech and Trine in the 18-team standings.

"We bowled solid and just kept clawing our way until we found ourselves in the top spot going into the last 4 baker games," said Rickert. "Unfortunately, we had one game in that last block with a couple splits that didn't go our way. Overall, this is a great achievement for a group that is in their 2nd year of existence."

Milligan returns to action in the new year at the Mid-South Conference's Lynne Jordan and Thomas Burris memorials on Jan. 20-21.