The St. Ambrose women came within a single game of earning their first title of the season this past weekend. Competing in the Warhawk Open in Addison, Ill., the Bees overcame a disastrous opening game, which saw the team in 19th place, ahead of just two teams. They continued to rally during the event, eventually making their way into fourth place heading into the eight-team match play finals bracket. The top three qualifiers were Mount Mercy (8563), Davenport (8157) and Calumet (8096), with St. Ambrose in fourth at 8030.

That pitted SAU against No. 5 Saint Xavier in the opening round, with St. Ambrose squeaking by with a 2.5-1.5 win after the teams tied in the opening stanza. That set up a match with top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Mount Mercy. That match was all square after two games, with SAU throwing a clutch turkey in the final three frames to take the win and set up a title tilt with No. 2-seeded Davenport University. This was another tight affair, with the teams needing a third game to settle the difference. Davenport took that game and the tournament championship, with the Bees settling for runner-up honors.

Varsity team members included Marissa Bills (1151-six games), Erin Williams (1123-six games), Noelle Phillips (1037-six games), Sammy Upham (977-six games), Amanda Bohn (924-five games), Tricia Alvarado (108-one game) and Kayla Devine.

The women's JV team also competed in the event, finishing in sixth place in the field of eight JV squads. Team members were Hailee Hospodar (975-six games), Shaylin Brown (949-six games), Maddie Ksobiech (945-six games), Makenna Verdon (879-six games) and Emily Barth (877-six games).

Three men's teams competed in the event. The varsity team qualified sixth in the field of 24 teams, earning a spot in the eight-team bracket finals. The top three qualifiers were Wisconsin-Whitewater (9407), Mount Mercy (9306) and Calumet (9107). SAU's qualifying pinfall total was 8921. In the opening round, Calumet eliminated St. Ambrose 2-1. Mount Mercy went on the claim the championship with a 2-0 victory over Rock Valley College.

Men's varsity team members were Devin Richards (1270-six games), Zach Greim (1251-six games), Kendric Siders (1193-six games), Pedro Irizarry (842-four games), Justin Aboud (585-three games), Cameron Crowe (538-three games), Lucas Hersrud (161-one game) and Lucas Finley (137-one game).

Men's JV1 finished in seventh place in the 16-team field, with JV2 finishing in eighth, just 46 pins behind.

The men's JV1 team consisted of Jaxon Robinson (948-five games), Anthony Mastroianni (944-five games), Nic Kidd (922-five games), Will Young (886-five games), Alex Nolan (880-five games), Zack Olkiewicz (664-four games) and Brendan DeWerth (153-one game).

Men's JV2 team members were Raiden Nakagawa (1169-six games), Josh Prowse (913-five games), James Dubanowich (859-five games), Logan Boll (842-five games), Matthew Edler (616-four games), Luke Kahuhu (495-three games) and Landon Mathiason (369-two games).

The teams have completed the first semester schedule, with varsity squads returning to action Jan. 12-13 at the Tier 1 Kegel Classic in Addison, Ill.