The Sam Houston State Bearkats were one of the eight teams selected Wednesday afternoon to compete for the bowling National Championship, finishing the regular season ranked fourth in the nation.
The team is excited to be heading to Louisiana to compete. This year will mark the fourth consecutive year the team will compete for the national title.
“We are very excited of course,” senior Janine Kuwahara said. “I know we have a full week ahead of us and we really have a lot of work to do, but it’s something that we have to take advantage of having that time off and just getting back physically and mentally. You know, even though we didn’t finish the season like we hoped we would, we have to get ready for the nationals.”
The Bearkats finished 1-2 at the Southland Bowling League Championship. The Kats lost to SFA in the elimination round, but the team feels that they are in a good position and are confident heading into nationals.
“We are just going to do what we have been doing,” sophomore Madysen Keller said. “We are going to keep practicing and work on spares, and just stick together as a team. Obviously. it wasn’t our best weekend, but it wasn’t like we lost and became bad, no. We know that we are good and you know, everyone has their bad days. We are looking to come back in nationals.”
The Bearkats will compete against top teams in the nation such as: Nebraska, McKendree, Arkansas State, Vanderbilt, Fairleigh Dickinson, SFA and Maryland Eastern Shore.
However, SHSU feels they can top the competition.
“I think we are in a good position,” Keller said. “It is anybody’s fair game, but I believe that with the good field, we can come out with the win.”
Kuwahara also feels confident going against the top teams in the nation.
“There is defiantly a lot of talent heading into this completion,” Kuwahara said. “But we have had a good season. We started off with winning four out of the first five tournaments of the season. We have beaten these teams at one point this school year so we just have to keep the same mind set.”
Out of the other seven teams selected, the Bearkats have in mind what team they are going to look out for heading into the completion.
“Nebraska defiantly stands out the most.” Kuwahara said. “They are having a really solid season and have been the most consistent, but we have a winning record against them so having that in mind will really help if we go against them in the competition.”
The team will have one week to prepare for the national competition. The three-day event will start on April 13 at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge.