Bowling's Inaugural Season Finishes at National Tournament

Bowling's Inaugural Season Finishes at National Tournament

The FMCC bowling team completed its inaugural season on Saturday with a respectable finish at the NJCAA National Tournament held in Buffalo. The Raiders co-ed team finished 13th out of 19 teams bowling against only men's teams.

Photo L to R: Damian Sullivan, Shirley GlynnDaniel McCoy, Sydney PalmatierCharlie Cusano, Kendra SweetDonavon Derenzo and Head Coach Tom Rathbun. Matt Frisch not pictured. 

"I thought they did really well at Buffalo, it was a new experience for all of them and I think they really enjoyed it. It is a lot of bowling in two days over a very challenging oil pattern and everything considered; they performed well.  On the last day you bowl against the team you are closest to in the standings and we faced Herkimer College. We trailed Herkimer by 8 pins going into the day and it remained close all day long.  We bowled three traditional games and then 9 Baker style format games. The lead traded back and forth between teams all day long and going into the final game, we trailed Herkimer by 6 pins.  In the final game our bowlers responded well with a 172 game to secure the 13th place finish", commented Coach Tom Rathbun. 

Damian Sullivan finished 16th out of 97 bowlers in the Men's singles competition with a 572 total. High games for the weekend were Sullivan with a 226, Donavon Derenzo 223, Charlie Cusano 186, Daniel McCoy 177, Kendra Sweet 168, Matt Frisch 167, Shirley Glynn 162, and Sydney Palmatier with a 148.

Coach Rathbun also stated, "With any first year program there are going to be some growing pains, but I was very proud of the efforts these young men and women put forth this year.  Nearly all of them will be back next year and I'm very excited about the new bowlers we have recruited. This year's team worked hard all year and always tried their best. I think more importantly, however, they conducted themselves as fine young adults and represented FMCC in a very positive manner."

"I would also like to thank the school for their support and to Athletic Director Kevin Jones who helped get this program started and for his efforts throughout the year to do anything he could to get this program on the map, it's greatly appreciated. Finally I would like to make special mention of the help generously given by Johnstown High School bowling coach, Dave Hayward.  Dave donated his time and his vast knowledge of bowling to our team and it is very much appreciated by both me and my bowlers", Coach Rathbun concluded.