The Newman University Men’s and Women’s Bowling Teams close out their run of regular season tournaments this weekend as they prepare to make the 10-hour bus trip to Indianapolis, Ind., to compete in the Hoosier Classic.
Unlike past seasons, 10-hour bus trips are something the teams have grown accustomed to, as the team has competed in only one home tournament and nine on the road. Since the Jets opened their season in October, the teams have traveled by a combination of vans, buses, and airplanes to seven different states, including Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, and Nevada.
The majority of the Jets’ traveling has been by way of charter buses, often times shared with Baker University’s bowling teams to help cut back on costs. The bus sharing experience is described as being an improvement from previous years when the team once shared a charter bus with not only the bowling teams of Baker University but also the bowling teams from Wichita State University and the University of Kansas.
Junior bowler Miranda Henjy says the time she has spent with her team traveling has had both its high points as well as its low points.
“When we do bowl well — when we compete as a team — it’s rewarding and it makes the distance a little bit better,” said Henjy.
However, unfortunately for the Jets, that rewarding feeling was tested last weekend while the teams were in Fairview Heights, Ill., competing at the Mckendree Baker Challenge. The team learned in the middle of the tournament that their bus had broken down. The bus was repaired while the teams finished competing in the tournament and within an hour of the tournament’s end the teams were on the road again and headed home.
This weekend’s tournament will be the last tournament the Jets compete in before beginning post-season play. The location of the sectional tournament is to be announced at the end of the month and the national tournament will be held in Baton Rouge, La.
