Get the brooms out.
Grand Canyon University Bowling swept first-place honors in the Sin City Open and Rebel Classic tournaments over the weekend, marking the first time the team has sent all four of their teams out-of-state this year.
Sin City Classic
The Lopes' varsity squad spent much of the tournament neck-and-neck with Arizona State, narrowly trailing after the first few team games. After a long day of bowling and battling, GCU edged out the Sun Devils by 59 pins in the final Baker game, taking home first place.
"We got out to a bit of a slower start than normal due to some abnormal lane conditions," said GCU Head Coach Ben Canfield. "We just controlled what we could control and stayed focused, and that helped us take down ASU."
Two Lopes' bowlers had notable individual performances at the tournament. Josh Molloy (1st), and Justin Kocher (2nd), both achieved a personal-best individual finish.
"It was a blast to be able to go out and bowl so well with my team," said Kocher. "It was a bonus to perform great individually, being able to bowl my second highest game ever (278)."
The GCU women's team beat San Jose State University for first place, led by Erika Kemp. The GCU JV1 team also placed first in their division.
Rebel Classic
Following the qualifying games for the Rebel Classic, the first-seeded varsity squad swept the ensuing three-round match play bracket, taking down rival ASU in the finals.
"The guys bowled at a really high level during the Baker portion of the event," said Canfield. "I'm hoping that we can keep this momentum rolling into some of our national competitions to end the year."
Lopes' Christopher Lellos (2nd) and Anthony Scharton (5th) both achieved personal-best individual finishes.
GCU's JV1 and JV2 teams would went head-to-head in the final match for their bracket, with JV1 narrowly seizing first place. The GCU women knocked off San Jose State yet again, with MacKenzie Theophilus (2nd) leading the way.
"The depth of our team has been impressive," said Canfield. "I'm proud of the way our entire team continues to show up and show out."
The Lopes head out to Indianapolis, IN on Feb 18 for the Hoosier Classic.
