In its second year at Augustana, the women’s bowling team is beginning the second half of their season with their eyes on qualifying for the USBC (United States Bowling Congress) sectionals in March.
The young team, made up of 8 team members–three first-years, four sophomores, and one junior–is coached by Martin Resner, an Augustana alum. A former football player, Resner also bowled in high school and was hired by Augustana to start the program.
“Being the first coach in history is a great honor and privilege. I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. I am very passionate about Augustana, about bowling and about the life skills and lessons one can learn through sports,” Resner said. “It has also been a good deal of work, but work I have excitedly and willingly to put in to help grow this program and make it successful.”
This season, the team’s highest finish is sixth place at the Crusader Classic in November. Despite some early season struggles, Resner believes that the team is growing each competition.
“Last year was a big learning experience for everyone. We were all young and inexperienced and the college bowling scene was new to everyone. We made good strides and set a good foundation in year one and came into year two much more confident and knowing more of what to expect,” Resner said. “We get to focus on smaller things this year, as we learned much of the bigger new things last year.”
The smaller things Resner mentioned include developing specific bowling skills, improving scores and enjoying their experiences as student-athletes.
First-year Sky Stoutt placed eighth overall at the Crusader Classic and currently has the second highest average on the team.
“I’ve met a whole lot of new people that are different from everybody that I was teammates with in high school, and they’ve given me new perspectives on life, school and bowling,” Stoutt said. “They help me be a better athlete and put into perspective how well I can do.”
The team does not currently compete in a conference, but hopes to join one in coming years so they can compete in the NCAA Championships. Resner also hopes to make the bowling team as similar to other sports teams at Augustana, saying that he wants to eventually take the team on an international trip to enrich their learning.
First-year Sophia Osborn explained how she’s grown as a bowler and how she hopes to continue to grow in her years at Augustana.
“Bowling used to be more emotional for me, but now it’s not. Now it’s just, ‘Get yourself together’ and it’s just one bad frame. It’s the next frame that’s going to be better,” Osborn said. “I just want [to gain] a better sense of teamwork, because in high school I was really bowling for myself more than a team.”
Despite having their eyes on the future and the development of the program, the team will shift their focus to the second half of their season. With three invitationals left on their schedule, the team hopes to end the season on a positive note.
“The first four tournaments went really well, and the last tournament was a little shaky. But now having the time off, having the time to regroup, the second half will go well too,” Stoutt said.
The team will compete in the Clarke Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 27. Their next home match, the Viking Classic, will be held Friday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb.24 at the QC Family Entertainment Center.