Grand Canyon coach Benjamin Canfield talks to his team following their second-round loss at the ITC on Thursday.

RESULTS

DAYTON, Ohio – The men’s and women’s defending champions each won their first two matches on the opening day of the 2019 Intercollegiate Team Championships on Thursday, joining six other teams that remain undefeated in the match-play bracket.

Competition at Poelking Lanes South resumes at 7:45 a.m. (Eastern) on Friday with elimination matches. Match play will continue Friday until the teams for Saturday’s title matches are determined.

After qualifying No. 13 on Thursday morning, the McKendree men’s team, which has won two of the last three ITC titles, regrouped with a 4-2 victory over St. Ambrose to start the best-of-seven match-play rounds. The Bearcats then swept Webber International in Round 2.

“This morning, I think they were still sleeping,” McKendree coach Dennis Knepper said. “After that, they stuck together and we were able to work on some things at the break.”

The defending women’s team, the Lindenwood Lions, also struggled in qualifying but bounced back with victories over two teams making their ITC debut – Duquesne and Indiana Tech.

“We know we are kind of the target but we are staying in our own zone, filling frames and having fun,” said senior Haley Cummings. “We struggled in qualifying, we were spraying the ball. We decided to play more left in match play and that worked to our favor.”

The 32-team field – 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams – started Thursday by bowling 24 Baker games to determine seeding for the match-play bracket.
 
Leading the men’s division was Wichita State, which returns six of its eight players from last season’s ITC team. The Shockers posted a 5,028 pinfall total (a 209.5 average) and were followed by Lindenwood (4,946), Notre Dame College (4,901), St. Ambrose (4,897) and Webber International (4,879).

But in the opening round of match play, the Shockers fell to Grand Canyon, making its debut at the ITC. Coach Benjamin Canfield said his team did not bowl well in qualifying, finishing as the No. 16 seed, but said qualifying simply determines who you bowl in the first match.

Grand Canyon lost its second-round match to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“We know we are capable of competing with any team in the nation,” Canfield said. “It’s awesome (beating Wichita State), something we can put on our resume, but we’re hoping to get some more wins tomorrow.”

Pacing the women’s field was 2017 ITC champion McKendree (4,978), followed by Indiana Tech (4,724), St. Ambrose (4,705), 2019 NCAA champion Stephen F. Austin (4,694) and Webber International (4,608).
 
Saturday’s ITC championships will be taped for broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The women’s title match will be televised May 7 and the men’s title match will be shown May 14. Each show starts at 8 p.m. (Eastern).

The semifinals and finals of the Intercollegiate Singles Championships also will take place Saturday and will be taped for broadcast. CBS Sports Network will air the women’s division on April 23 at 11 p.m. Eastern and the men’s division on April 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Teams earned their way into the ITC field in March by finishing in the top four at one of four sectional events held throughout the country.

BowlTV.com has live coverage of all qualifying and match-play rounds of the Intercollegiate Team and Singles Championships leading up to the televised finals.

Visit BOWL.com/ITC for more information on the Intercollegiate Team Championships.

INTERCOLLEGIATE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Poelking Lanes South, Dayton, Ohio
Thursday’s Results

MEN’S DIVISION
Qualifying (24 Baker games)
1. Wichita State, 5,028
2. Lindenwood, 4,946
3. Notre Dame College, 4,901
4. St. Ambrose, 4,897
5. Webber International, 4,879
6. Lawrence Tech, 4,789
7. St. Francis-Illinois, 4,717
8. William Penn, 4,712
9. *Wisconsin-Whitewater, 4,697
9. *Calumet, 4,697
11. Savannah College of Art and Design-Savannah, 4,642
12. Emmanuel, 4,544
13. McKendree, 4,515
14. Rochester Tech, 4,362
15. William Paterson, 4,356
16. Grand Canyon, 4,316
*ties for position were broken by score in final 12-game block

Match play, first round
Grand Canyon def. Wichita State, 4.5-3.5
Wis.-Whitewater def. William Penn, 4-3
Webber International def. Emmanuel, 4-2
McKendree def. St. Ambrose, 4-2
William Paterson def. Lindenwood, 4-3
Calumet def. St. Francis-Illinois, 4-3
Lawrence Tech def. SCAD-Savannah, 4-3
Rochester Tech def. Notre Dame College, 4-3

Match play, second round
Wis.-Whitewater def. Grand Canyon, 4-1
McKendree def. Webber International, 4-0
Calumet def. William Paterson, 4-2
Lawrence Tech def. Rochester Tech, 4-1

WOMEN’S DIVISION
Qualifying (24 Baker games)
1. McKendree, 4,978
2. Indiana Tech, 4,724
3. St. Ambrose, 4,705
4. Stephen F. Austin, 4,694
5. Webber International, 4,608
6. Wichita State, 4,533
7. Duquesne, 4,529
8. Pikeville, 4,490
9. *Maryland Eastern Shore, 4,461
9. *Lindenwood, 4,461
11. William Penn, 4,434
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4,431
13. Mount Mercy, 4,366
14. Robert Morris-Illinois, 4,283
15. St. Francis-Illinois, 4,278
16. Delaware State, 4,237
*ties for position were broken by score in final 12-game block

Match play, first round (best-of-7)
McKendree def. Delaware State, 4-3
Pikeville def. Maryland Eastern Shore, 4-3
Webber International def. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-2
Stephen F. Austin def. Mount Mercy, 4-0
Indiana Tech def. St. Francis-Illinois, 4-0
Lindenwood def. Duquesne, 4-2
William Penn def. Wichita State, 4-2
Robert Morris-Illinois def. St. Ambrose, 4-3

Match play, second round
McKendree def. Pikeville, 4-1
Stephen F. Austin def. Webber International, 4-1
Lindenwood def. Indiana Tech, 4-2
Robert Morris-Illinois def. William Penn, 4-3