In a rollercoaster weekend where the Grand Canyon University Bowling team was as low as 17th place in their pool of 21, the Lopes rallied to finish in 2nd place at United States Bowling Congress (USBC) ITC Sectionals in Dallas, Texas. The 2nd-place finish was the Lopes' best in their history at the event and qualified them for only their second trip ever to the USBC National Championships in Jeffersontown, Kentucky.
The slow start that the Lopes experienced is something that they have experience overcoming - often catching fire in Day 2 of events this season.
"We put such a big emphasis on not paying attention to the scores around us," said GCU Head Bowling Coach Ben Canfield. "I'm not even sure that the guys knew they were in 17th after the first block of game. Everyone was so locked in on controlling what was in front of them."
The Lopes picked up momentum quickly after their shaky first 16 games, rolling their way to seventh by the end of game 32, fourth after 48, and their eventual 2nd-place spot, edging out St. Ambrose University by 77 pins on the last day to finish behind champion Wichita State University, who entered the event as the top-seeded team. GCU ended their successful weekend with a total pinfall of 13,106.
"For me personally, making it to ITC Nationals is a dream come true. I'll remember the comeback we had to secure our bid for the rest of my life," said GCU senior Josh Molloy. "This weekend reassured our team that we aren't to be overlooked and it shows how far we've come. Now that we've punched out ticket the real hard work begins to try and make a run at history and become national champions."
Although Molloy is the elder statesman on the GCU squad as a fifth-year senior, he was a year shy of being on the last GCU squad to make the ITC Nationals trip.
"A finish like this is really validating as a club program," said Canfield. "To make it back to nationals reaffirms the worth of the hard work that we've been putting in since 2019. We don't take the opportunity for granted."
Although the team punched their ticket to ITC Nationals, their next event is the Collegiate Club National Bowling Championships on April 6-7 in Anderson, Indiana. Both the Lopes' Men's and Women's Bowling teams will attend.
