Viterbo bowling quickly rises to prominence

In only its first year of existence, Viterbo bowling has become a powerhouse on the national level.

Both the men's and women's squads are ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation for all colleges that have bowling programs. The women's team is currently ranked 17th by CollegeBowling.com, while the men are 24th.

The program's quick rise to prominence means that Viterbo gets to compete with larger schools on a national level. For example, the V-Hawks have competed in tournaments with teams like Michigan State, Kansas, Louisville, and Central Florida, more than holding their own in the process.

The teams are coached by Jim Socha, who also serves as the men's golf coach at Viterbo.
When asked what a college bowling meet is like, Socha replied "People who aren't familiar with it would be surprised by the excitement" shown by fans and participants alike.

At the beginning of a meet, a starting lineup of five bowlers is selected by the team's coach. Additional bowlers can then be substituted throughout the meet. Typically, there are nine rounds, meaning that an individual could bowl up to nine games in one meet.

The team also often competes in Baker-style games at meets. In this format, five bowlers bowl one combined game, rotating frames throughout. The team's best bowler is generally put at the fifth spot, giving him or her the fifth and tenth frames. Socha indicated that Baker-style games are often the highlight of meets, as they are more exciting and generate lots of energy from the crowd.

The men's team has placed ninth and 12th at two meets so far this season.

Greg Pizl turned in the best individual performance for the squad thus far on Oct. 4 at the Midwest Collegiate Invitational. Pizl placed fourth out of 312 bowlers with a 218.4 average. Pizl, a freshman from Antigo, Wis., came to Viterbo as one of the top bowling recruits in the country.

Andy Mills, an Onalaska native, bowled a 300 for Viterbo earlier this year. The perfect game was the seventh of Mills' career. He admitted that this one "was by far the most exciting of them," as it happened in front of hundreds of fans.

The women's team has placed eighth and 12th in their two meets so far this year. Coach Socha singled out Kendra Bundy, a Tomah, Wis., native, and Rachel Schalow of Marshfield as top contributors for the squad so far.

Socha also pointed out that each team is made up exclusively of freshmen, meaning that there's no reason that the teams shouldn't improve over the next few years. The team will compete through January of this year, closing out their season with the BlueGold Classic in South Bend, Ind.