Competing at the National Match Games Tournament in Fairview Heights, Ill., St. Ambrose's mens bowling team came away with a hard-fought victory. This represents the men's third Tier-1 championship in program history. In 2019, the Bees captured the Kegel Classic and Hoosier Classic.

William Jones paced the squad, finishing second in the men's standings; he averaged 222.3 for his six games (1334 pins). Other team members were Nate Stubler (1250-six games), Dakota Solonka (1023-five games), Zach Greim (973-five games), Seth Sikkema (843-four games), Justin Aboud (590-three games), Corey Roth (183-one game) and Jordan Monnens.

It was a thrilling finish, as St. Ambrose dueled to the wire with runner-up Lawrence Tech and third-place finisher and tournament host McKendree University. Following Saturday's six traditional games, the Bees found themselves in third place, trailing Lawrence Tech by 121 pins and McKendree by 50 pins. St. Ambrose quickly caught fire in Sunday's baker competition, propelling them into contention. Heading into the final four-game bake set, just 35 pins separated the three teams, with St. Ambrose eventually coming out on top. The final pinfall for the top three teams was St. Ambrose with 10481, Lawrence Tech with 10457 and McKendree with 10428.

The women's team had a great Saturday, trailing tournament host McKendree University by just 50 pins. However, McKendree turned up the heat and pulled away to a 391-pin victory, while SAU slipped into fourth place. Finishing behind McKendree (10366) were Mount Mercy (9975), Newman University (9800) and St. Ambrose (9786).

Addy Nelson led the ladies field in scoring, bringing home the win by averaging 218.17 (1309 for six games). Teammate Megan Hess was close behind, finishing runner-up with 1277, and qualifying for her third-consecutive All-Tournament Team. Teammates included Karsyn Burgess (1152-six games), Kayla Devine (1110-six games), Kayley Fangman (978-five games), Tricia Alvarado (160-one game) and Sammy Upham. 

Varsity and JV squads will compete for the final time this semester this coming weekend in Addison Illinois at the Warhawk Open.