Bowlers place 26th in Blue and Gold Open
Special to the Observer
Over 300 keglers converged on Beacon Bowl for the Bowling Club's annual Blue and Gold Open. Fifty of the top men's and women's teams traveled to one of the year's most prestigious events, including defending national champion Saginaw and other top-ranked teams such as Northern Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue. On the women's side, Morehead State and Indiana State, ranked first and fourth nationally, headed the field. The Irish had bad luck in match play, drawing top five seeded opponents. Bowling on their home lanes, the Irish finished 26th in the match play format, although their total pin count was good enough for 16th. Top averages included Jason Pawlak, 214, and Darren Kraft, 204, which placed them 15th and 19th in the tournament. Anne Deitch's 183 put her at 19th in the women's rankings. Men's Champion was 11th ranked Northern Illinois, while the women's trophy went to Indiana State.
Men's Volleyball
The Michigan Classic was anything but for the Men's Volleyball Club. Having already won more matches than all of last year, the Irish hoped to build on momentum gained from last week's victories over Miami (Ohio), Illinois State and Marquette. However, a subpar performance resulted in losses to Navy, 25-19, 25-23; Kentucky, 25-23, 18-25, 15-17; Northwestern, 25-14, 25-14; and Graceland, 25-15, 25-11. The B team fared much better, defeating Michigan, Penn State - Altoona and Grand Rapids, before falling to Michigan State. Next up for the netters is a Midwest 10 tournament at Marquette in three weeks.
Ultimate Frisbee
The Ultimate Club competed in the University of Michigan Invitational, an event featuring the best teams from the midwest. In men's competition, the Irish posted a deceiving 2-3 record. Decisive victories over Ohio State, 11-6, and Michigan B, 12-4, were offset with close losses decided in the final minute. Dayton scored twice in the last minute to walk away an 8-7 victor, and then the Irish fought ninth-ranked Michigan to the wire before dropping a 9-8 overtime decision in the semifinals, and later losing 12-9 in a game that was close to the end. Matt Anderson's valiant play against Dayton was the individual Irish highlight of the tournament, as he scored five of Notre Dame's seven points. Cory Padesky's standout play throughout the entire event paced the club.
In women's play, the Irish played several club teams, before squaring off against the other top two midwest teams. These matches lived up to their billing as the Irish split two hard fought games, losing to Michigan 9-8, and rebounding against defending regional champion Illinois 8-7. These three teams figure to dominate midwest intercollegiate competition, and will likely meet again in the season ending championships.
Late Night Olympics
In addition to several competitions this weekend, seven clubs will stay at home to help with RecSports Late Night Olympics. The Equestrian, Rodeo, Field Hockey, Judo, Ultimate, Men's Water Polo and Women's Boxing Clubs have volunteered their time to support LNO.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 1, 2000
