by Cheval John

HUNTSVILLE, TX-The Sam Houston State Bearkat bowling team won the second annual Track Kat Klash Bowling Tournament on Sunday.

The tournament was the third that the Bearkats have won in this season.

It was also their second time that they won the Kat Klash tournament.

“This tournament was our biggest one so far and coming off with the win is huge,” senior Michelle Secours said.

The Bearkats came into the tournament ranked at No.8 nationally.

They went 12-1 in the three-day event with wins against four nationally ranked teams.

In the final day, they defeated No.9 Valparaiso Crusaders, No.2 Arkansas State Redwolves and No.14 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.

But it wasn’t an easy road for the Bearkats.

Trailing 2-1 in the best of seven baker style play against Valparaiso and in danger of finishing in fifth place, SHSU had to dig deep in order to even the score.

With the Crusaders finishing at 183 and the Bearkats having two more frames to go at 145, Secours and junior Kimi Davidson got back-to-back strikes in the ninth and ten frame, respectively to keep their hopes alive.

On the next roll, Davidson got the last nine pins to give the Bearkats the match at 191-183 to even the match at 2.

“We made shots when we had to,” head coach Brad Hagen said.

“When we had to make strikes, we did. Everything worked out.”

The Bearkats won the fifth match 266-209 to pull out to a 3-2 lead.

However, the Crusaders took the sixth match to even it at 3 and forcing a winner takes all match.

Both teams were neck-and-neck in the first five frames of the match.

But with the Crusaders rolling nine pins in the sixth frame, opened up the door for the Bearkats to rum away with it.

That is exactly what they did.

Freshman Anna Groce started the party with a strike in the sixth frame.

Then the flood gates opened as junior Neishka Cardona, freshman Erin Brown, Secours and Davidson each made strikes to finish off the Crusaders and move on to the semifinal round against the Redwolves.

“There was a good cynergy between the upperclassman and the underclassman,” Hagen said.

“When everybody had to make a shot, they did.”

The Bearkats eventually defeated Arkansas State 4-2 to reach the finals against the Warhawks.

UW-Whitewater took the opening match 214-163.

It seemed as if the Warhawks was going to take a 2-0 after finishing the match at 202 courtesy of two strikes in the tenth frame.

But Davidson rolled 9 pins and a spare in the the tenth frame that allowed her to get another chance to even the score for the Bearkats.

Davidson got the much needed 9 pins to win the match at 212-202 to tie it at 1.

From there, the Bearkat took advantage of their opportunities and got three straight wins against the Crusaders to win the tournament.

“We did what we needed to do and we kept the momentum going and overall it was a great weekend,” Davidson said.

“She (Kimi Davidson) come a long way,” Hagen said.

“She had a great first half which is good. … .We looking for her to do it again in the second half of the season.”

Davidson finished the day with an 211 pin average. That was second behind a 214.2 averegage by Secours.

Brown averaged a 194 while Cardona averaged a 185.8.

Though Groce had a 180.25 average, her game played an important role in the Bearkats getting their third tournament title.

“She set the tone for us and overall she did a great job,” Davidson said.