OC Bowlers almost hit the turkey

The Oberlin men's intercollegiate bowling team travelled to Kent Nov. 14 and 15 to compete in the 9th annual Kent State University bowling tournament. The squad toppled 7,697 pins during the event, which consisted of nine five-man team games plus six "Baker" games, in which five team members combine for one score by rolling two frames each. The total was good for a ninth place finish.

Junior Jonathan Stoper opened the tourney with a 234 game and a 603 total for his first three games. Junior John Partridge notched a 237, Oberlin's highest single game score of the weekend. Double degree fifth-year Chris Neese contributed a 204 game, and senior Josh Raisler Cohn had a 194 for the Yeobowlers.

Wright State claimed the tournament championship by just a few pins over the host Kent State team. The University of Toledo's Brian Dienes, a North Ridgeville native who bowled for several years in junior leagues at Oberlin College Lanes, finished third in the companion singles event with a 213 average for nine games.

Oberlin's women's team, which won the ACU-I Region 7 championship in Michigan last February, had planned to bowl in the tournament but was unable to compete because the women's portion of the event was cancelled.

The OC bowlers will return to the lanes in March, when they will travel to a tournament at the University of Michigan. At that time, both the men's and women's teams will have an opportunity to compete.

-Tom Reid, assistant director of the Student Union, is an advisor for the bowling team.