Warhawks Win ITC's
Every college bowler in the country dreams of winning the Intercollegiate Team Championships and bringing the Helmer Cup home. Well, your University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks made that dream come true April 23, 2022.
Our journey began on Thursday morning with qualifying. The Warhawks had an ok showing as we finished as the 8 seed heading into the best of 7 double-elimination bracket. The guys felt that they had a good game plan, shiny solids and dull pearls, and headed into match play with the utmost confidence.
Thursday night, the Warhawks opened the bracket with a talented Mount Mercy University squad. They were the #9 seed and finished the year ranked 10th in the nation. The Warhawks got off to a quick start and snuck out of the round with a 4-1 victory over the Mustangs. Then in the second round, their prize for winning the opening round was to face off with the #1 seed (and 3rd ranked team in the nation), SCAD Savannah. This match went back and forth and ultimately could have been anyone's ball game, but the Warhawks reigned supreme and took the decisive 7th game to defeat the Bee’s 4-3 and receive a two round bye. Oh and let me also state that the Bee’s Head Coach Katie Thornton was named the NCBCA Gordon Vadakin Coach of the Year.
Friday afternoon, the Warhawks faced off with one of the youngest and certainly most talented freshmen classes this year, Indiana Tech University. The Warriors finished the season ranked 8th in the nation and earned the #4 seed at the ITC’s. This fifth round has not been good to the Warhawks…ever. And this year was no different. What was different was our opponent. Normally in this round we square off with McKendree University. But this year, with a new opponent, we hoped for a new outcome. However, the Warrior made pretty quick work of the Warhawks by beating us 4-2, thus sending the Warhawks into the Contenders Bracket.
In round 6, we drew our Achilles heel at the ITC’s, McKendree University. The Bearcats, despite being the 8th ranked team in the nation, they previously earned the #12 seed. Because of our frequent match ups at the ITC’s, there’s a lot of mutual respect amongst the coaches and team members. Despite coming off back-to-back wins in the Contenders Brackets, your Warhawks were finally able to get by McKendree 4-2, advancing them straight into the national semi-finals.
Friday evening, the Warhawks were faced with the team that had sent them into the Contenders Bracket, Indiana Tech University. And in order to advance to the finals, not only did we have to win one best-of-seven match, we had to win two. This is also the round that has blanked the Warhawks in the past. We have never won a semi-final match, let alone never have we sent it to a second best-of-seven. So this would be a long night for us if we wanted to advance to the finals.
In the first best-of-seven match, the Warhawks got the job done in six games, winning the first match 4-2, forcing the “If” match. Both teams moved to a fresh pair and had another 15 minutes of practice. While the Warhawks stuck to our game plan, Indiana Tech worked to deviate from what they had previously carved out for themselves. This proved to be detrimental the first three games as they struggled to get their feet under them and make shots with great confidence. The Warhawks started strong, winning each of the first three games and needing just one more game to advance to the finals. But that moment didn’t come in game 4. Nor did it come in game 5 or 6. The Warhawks allowed the Warriors to tie up the match 3-3 and force a game 7. With everything on the line, the Warhawks rallied back and was able to win game 7 and punch their ticket to their first ever national final!
Despite the teams exhaustion, they sat down with Dave Ryan and Sydney Brummett of CBS Sports. During this light hearted conversation, Dave and Sydney got to learn a little more about each of the guys and coaches to help them talk about them during the show.
Then it was time for the biggest completion of everyone’s competitive career. Not only were the Warhawks competing for their first ever national championship, in order to get that they would have to get through the number 1 team in the nation and the defending national champions, Wichita State University. I should also mention that with 12 men’s national titles already won, Wichita is certainly college bowling's version of Alabama football and Duke basketball.
The guys were given an hour to practice on the pattern outside of the staged arena. Then the teams were marched into the arena setting and given 15 minutes of practice on the pair. Then the show began.
Despite most of the guys in the starting line up never bowling on a TV set like this, their nerves seemed to be in check as they come out the shoot with a 211. Unfortunately, they came up just two pins shot of the win as Wichita State’s anchor, Alec Keplinger, struck out to take the game. Game two, the guys outright struggled on the left lane. This caused them to make some errant shots and miss some makeable spares and out their backs against the wall as one more loss would end our dream run.
But the Warhawks saw something in the Wichita State’s lead off bowler, TJ Rock, first shot which game them the intel we needed to be able rally ourselves back into the match. The Warhawks pressed the pedal to the medal and took games 3 and 4, setting up another decisive win or go home game.
The fifth and final game started with opens by both lead off bowlers. The Warhawks then rallied back with a three bagger and back to back single pin spares. Through six frames, the guys found themselves 42 pins ahead of the Shockers. A late open in the 8th frame by the Warhawks slightly opened the door for Wichita State but that quickly slammed shut when set up bowler Ryan Barnes failed to strike. This allowed our Quinn Sheehy to go up and strike in the 9th to mathematically close out the match and allow the Warhawks to win their first ever ITC National Championship!
Senior Captain Donovan Thomas was named the ITC Most Valuable Player.
As you can see, this week was extremely memorable for so many reasons. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years of coaching, and competing in college, that is that the most physically talented teams don’t always win. Of all the teams we faced this week, I don’t think we were ever the most physically talented. However, we were the best TEAM of all the teams we faced. And when our backs got shoved to the wall, the perseverance of the Warhawks came through. If I had to say what our three keys to success were this week, I would say:
1. Controlling what we control
2. Breathing
3. Having fun
Focusing on these three things allows each of the team members to have a clear mind and the ability to process the information discussed and convert that into a quality shot, and filled frame.
I couldn’t be more proud of these eight men (Drake Bazzy, Brett Beuthin, Maguire Hansche, Garrett Meadows, Mason Peterson, Ty Peterson, Quinn Sheehy, and Donovan Thomas) as well as my assistant coach, JR Meagher! No one let the nonsense and drama that filled the team during the fall to affect the focus and intentionality during competition. This was, by far, the best weekend in Warhawks Bowling history. It is amazing to know that the University of Wisconsin Whitewater has been etched in the history of college bowling!
Thank you to all of our current team members, as well as each and every one of our alumni. Thank you to all of our parents, significant others, additional family and friends, and of course UW Whitewater and USBC Collegiate. And a special thank you to Motiv, I Am Bowling, and Vise for all of your support this season.
Please tune in to CBS Sports on Tuesday May 10th at 7:00pm to watch the Warhawks win their first ever ITC National Championship. Soon after that, we will also premier a documentary about our journey to the Helmer Cup. We brought along Cale Rusch to document everything from our trip to Addison. So I can’t wait to see this piece as well.
Our journey began on Thursday morning with qualifying. The Warhawks had an ok showing as we finished as the 8 seed heading into the best of 7 double-elimination bracket. The guys felt that they had a good game plan, shiny solids and dull pearls, and headed into match play with the utmost confidence.
Thursday night, the Warhawks opened the bracket with a talented Mount Mercy University squad. They were the #9 seed and finished the year ranked 10th in the nation. The Warhawks got off to a quick start and snuck out of the round with a 4-1 victory over the Mustangs. Then in the second round, their prize for winning the opening round was to face off with the #1 seed (and 3rd ranked team in the nation), SCAD Savannah. This match went back and forth and ultimately could have been anyone's ball game, but the Warhawks reigned supreme and took the decisive 7th game to defeat the Bee’s 4-3 and receive a two round bye. Oh and let me also state that the Bee’s Head Coach Katie Thornton was named the NCBCA Gordon Vadakin Coach of the Year.
Friday afternoon, the Warhawks faced off with one of the youngest and certainly most talented freshmen classes this year, Indiana Tech University. The Warriors finished the season ranked 8th in the nation and earned the #4 seed at the ITC’s. This fifth round has not been good to the Warhawks…ever. And this year was no different. What was different was our opponent. Normally in this round we square off with McKendree University. But this year, with a new opponent, we hoped for a new outcome. However, the Warrior made pretty quick work of the Warhawks by beating us 4-2, thus sending the Warhawks into the Contenders Bracket.
In round 6, we drew our Achilles heel at the ITC’s, McKendree University. The Bearcats, despite being the 8th ranked team in the nation, they previously earned the #12 seed. Because of our frequent match ups at the ITC’s, there’s a lot of mutual respect amongst the coaches and team members. Despite coming off back-to-back wins in the Contenders Brackets, your Warhawks were finally able to get by McKendree 4-2, advancing them straight into the national semi-finals.
Friday evening, the Warhawks were faced with the team that had sent them into the Contenders Bracket, Indiana Tech University. And in order to advance to the finals, not only did we have to win one best-of-seven match, we had to win two. This is also the round that has blanked the Warhawks in the past. We have never won a semi-final match, let alone never have we sent it to a second best-of-seven. So this would be a long night for us if we wanted to advance to the finals.
In the first best-of-seven match, the Warhawks got the job done in six games, winning the first match 4-2, forcing the “If” match. Both teams moved to a fresh pair and had another 15 minutes of practice. While the Warhawks stuck to our game plan, Indiana Tech worked to deviate from what they had previously carved out for themselves. This proved to be detrimental the first three games as they struggled to get their feet under them and make shots with great confidence. The Warhawks started strong, winning each of the first three games and needing just one more game to advance to the finals. But that moment didn’t come in game 4. Nor did it come in game 5 or 6. The Warhawks allowed the Warriors to tie up the match 3-3 and force a game 7. With everything on the line, the Warhawks rallied back and was able to win game 7 and punch their ticket to their first ever national final!
Despite the teams exhaustion, they sat down with Dave Ryan and Sydney Brummett of CBS Sports. During this light hearted conversation, Dave and Sydney got to learn a little more about each of the guys and coaches to help them talk about them during the show.
Then it was time for the biggest completion of everyone’s competitive career. Not only were the Warhawks competing for their first ever national championship, in order to get that they would have to get through the number 1 team in the nation and the defending national champions, Wichita State University. I should also mention that with 12 men’s national titles already won, Wichita is certainly college bowling's version of Alabama football and Duke basketball.
The guys were given an hour to practice on the pattern outside of the staged arena. Then the teams were marched into the arena setting and given 15 minutes of practice on the pair. Then the show began.
Despite most of the guys in the starting line up never bowling on a TV set like this, their nerves seemed to be in check as they come out the shoot with a 211. Unfortunately, they came up just two pins shot of the win as Wichita State’s anchor, Alec Keplinger, struck out to take the game. Game two, the guys outright struggled on the left lane. This caused them to make some errant shots and miss some makeable spares and out their backs against the wall as one more loss would end our dream run.
But the Warhawks saw something in the Wichita State’s lead off bowler, TJ Rock, first shot which game them the intel we needed to be able rally ourselves back into the match. The Warhawks pressed the pedal to the medal and took games 3 and 4, setting up another decisive win or go home game.
The fifth and final game started with opens by both lead off bowlers. The Warhawks then rallied back with a three bagger and back to back single pin spares. Through six frames, the guys found themselves 42 pins ahead of the Shockers. A late open in the 8th frame by the Warhawks slightly opened the door for Wichita State but that quickly slammed shut when set up bowler Ryan Barnes failed to strike. This allowed our Quinn Sheehy to go up and strike in the 9th to mathematically close out the match and allow the Warhawks to win their first ever ITC National Championship!
Senior Captain Donovan Thomas was named the ITC Most Valuable Player.
As you can see, this week was extremely memorable for so many reasons. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years of coaching, and competing in college, that is that the most physically talented teams don’t always win. Of all the teams we faced this week, I don’t think we were ever the most physically talented. However, we were the best TEAM of all the teams we faced. And when our backs got shoved to the wall, the perseverance of the Warhawks came through. If I had to say what our three keys to success were this week, I would say:
1. Controlling what we control
2. Breathing
3. Having fun
Focusing on these three things allows each of the team members to have a clear mind and the ability to process the information discussed and convert that into a quality shot, and filled frame.
I couldn’t be more proud of these eight men (Drake Bazzy, Brett Beuthin, Maguire Hansche, Garrett Meadows, Mason Peterson, Ty Peterson, Quinn Sheehy, and Donovan Thomas) as well as my assistant coach, JR Meagher! No one let the nonsense and drama that filled the team during the fall to affect the focus and intentionality during competition. This was, by far, the best weekend in Warhawks Bowling history. It is amazing to know that the University of Wisconsin Whitewater has been etched in the history of college bowling!
Thank you to all of our current team members, as well as each and every one of our alumni. Thank you to all of our parents, significant others, additional family and friends, and of course UW Whitewater and USBC Collegiate. And a special thank you to Motiv, I Am Bowling, and Vise for all of your support this season.
Please tune in to CBS Sports on Tuesday May 10th at 7:00pm to watch the Warhawks win their first ever ITC National Championship. Soon after that, we will also premier a documentary about our journey to the Helmer Cup. We brought along Cale Rusch to document everything from our trip to Addison. So I can’t wait to see this piece as well.
