LIMERICK, Pa. - - Winning the final two matches of the tournament moved the Wilmington University bowling team back into 21st place on Sunday in bracket play at the KU Invitational played at the Limerick Bowl.
Starting in the 21st position, the Wildcats faced off against nationally No. 25 Kutztown. The Wildcats took the first game of the match, 184-150, but the Golden Bears snuck past the Wildcats in the second game, 171-170, and never looked back. The Golden Bears won the final three games as well, taking the 4-1 victory.
The Wildcats then faced off against Monmouth, again coming out fast with a 206-160 victory in the first game. The Wildcats then fell behind, 2-1, but picked up the much needed win in game four, 191-181, to tie the match, 2-2. The Wildcats took the lead, 3-2, with a 203-179 win in game five, but couldn't close out the victory until game seven, 177-174, to win the match, 4-3.
Wilmington had a rematch with Kutztown in the final positioning match, again going down to the wire with the Golden Bears. The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead with a 223-216 win in game one, but the Bears tied the match with a win in game two. The two teams tied the third game, 194-194, giving each team 1.5 points. The Wildcats then took the next two matches, 185-160 and 182-181, to take a 3.5-1.5 advantage, but Kutztown didn't go away.
The Golden Bears battled back to win games six and seven to tie the match, 3.5-3.5, sending the match to a rolloff. The Wildcats pulled out the victory over the Golden Bears, 90-75, to take 21st overall.
Nationally No. 10 Stephen F. Austin won the KU Invite, defeating No. 4 Arkansas State in the title match. No. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore defeated No. 7 Fairleigh Dickinson to take third place overall. No. 3 Vanderbilt rounded out the Top 5 with a fifth place finish.
The Wildcats head back to Kutztown for their next tournament as well, as they will compete in the two-day Bowl for the KUre starting on Saturday, February 2. The tournament will be run at the Jay Lanes Bowling in Douglassville, Pa.