Bowlers open season with first home event

Looking forward to a full slate of tournaments for the first time since 2019, the Sam Houston bowlers will kick off a 13-event slate at home on Oct. 10.

The Bearkats will open the year with an exhibition match against Texas Southern at the Kat Klub in the Lowman Student Center. It will be the first on-campus competitive match for the Bearkats in program history.

"We have an excellent facility here on campus that is huge for our development as a program," said head coach Brad Hagen. "Our hope has always been to be ab le to bring other squads here for a match, so we are happy to be able to welcome TSU here to kick off the season."

The match against TSU, will kick off a full slate of action for the Bearkats that concludes with the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, where the Kats have been participants nine times in the last 11 years.

In addition to their regular season NCAA tournaments, the Bearkats will also take part in the U.S. Bowling Congress competitions, starting with the USBC Tier 1 in Wichita, Kan. on Oct. 16.

The NCAA recently made a change, allowing teams to compete in USBC postseason events without it counting against the number of regular season tournaments allowed during the season. The Kats will also compete in the USBC Sectional Tournament in March.

"This gives us the opportunity to have additional TV exposure as well as compete against other teams we don't normally would see," Hagen said. "I think this will be really good for us. It will add a different level of competition during the season and serve as a break from our regular season schedule."

The regular season will begin in Louisiana when the Kats head to the Tulane Invitational. It will be a nice preview for the squad, who will also take part in the Southland Bowling League Championships at the same facility, Colonial Bowling Lanes.

Several events will be familiar to the Kats as they will make their return to PVA&M Invite, the Bulldog Classic, the SFA Ladyjack Classic, the Mid-Winter Invitational and the Music City Classic, all taking place at facilities they have competed in before. The Kats will also return to Emerald Bowl in Houston for the Track Kat Klash for the first time since 2019.

Two new events are on the schedule for the Bearkats the season as they will head to Deptford, N.J. for the North East Classic hosted by Sacred Heart and LIU. That will be the first tournament back in January. The Kats will also head to North Carolina A&T's home event, the Stallings Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. in March.

"It's nice to get back to a full competition schedule," Hagen said. "The schedule allows us to build in to the season as well as give us adequate amount of time in between events to get organized as well as recover so to be ready for the long hall come March and April."

The NCAA will continue with the regional format, with 16 teams qualifying for four different regionals, with the four Regional winners advancing to the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The Regional locations are Arlington, Texas, Erie, Pa., Rochester, N.Y. and Lansing, Mich. Last season all four regionals were held at the same location, where the Bearkats lost in the Regional Finals to Youngstown State.

Bowlers open season with first home event

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