GC WEEKLY: Goshen bowling closes fall season at Purdue Classic

Goshen College’s JV men’s and varsity women’s bowling teams closed out their fall regular season Nov. 15 at Purdue University’s Boilermaker Classic. In just their second year as a program, the men’s team placed 15th out of 17 teams, while the women finished third in a nine-team field.

Nash Morgan, a freshman bowler, was named Crossroads League Bowler of the Week for the first time in his career. He knocked down 843 pins for a 168.6 average, finishing 52nd out of 141 bowlers. The freshman scored a season-high 216 in his second game, raising his overall season average to 160 through eight games.

“Being in a new environment is so challenging,” he said. “I had never bowled there before, so getting that award was something I was definitely not expecting, but it is for sure an honor.”

Head coach Scott Curtis added to Morgan’s achievement, mentioning that throughout the preparation, he “learned more about his shot and form and was able to put it all together.”

“As soon as I came here, I talked to coach and changed from a four-step approach to a five-step,” Morgan said. “So it was definitely him [Curtis] who prepared me in general, working on my form and handing out advice to all of us.”

Concerning the results on the men’s side, Curtis described it as a learning opportunity for the less experienced athletes.

“The team was the JV team bowling up in the varsity division,” he said. “They learned a lot about what they need to work on as a team and individually to perform at the top level of collegiate bowling.”

Morgan described the men’s team performance as “rocky” and believes the team’s biggest area of improvement is staying consistent throughout the entirety of the competition.

“The first two games were steady because we had enough oil to be able to make the best out of it,” Morgan said. “Then it was sort of a decline because we had a lot more transition, a lot more ball changes, so then we’re pretty much at the bottom of our bags, our weakest balls by then.”

On the women’s side, Jessica Spidell, a sophomore, joined Morgan in winning the Crossroads League Bowler of the Week. Spidell totaled 928 pins for a 185.6 average over five games and earned a second-place finish out of 64 bowlers. In game three, she scored a 216, setting a new personal best performance.

“It felt amazing,” she said. “I kept an open mind all day, I never let myself get down and upset, and this is what made me successful.”

Curtis believes that Spidell had an extremely focused mentality from the first shot and just never looked back.

“Her second-place finish helped boost her confidence in her game,” he said.

As a team, the women’s varsity squad secured third place, trailing only Judson and Purdue. Spidell believes the team culture and support are what contributed the most to the success.

“When we let ourselves get upset is when we throw our games, but during this tournament, we were able to keep ourselves upbeat, and it kept us going the whole day,” she said.

Looking ahead, both JV and varsity men’s and women’s teams will participate in the Crossroads League No. 1 on Dec. 5. The expectations are set and high.

“Going in with a positive attitude and doing the best they can on that given day,” Curtis said. “We want for the men a fifth-place overall season finish and for the women a third-place overall season finish; these would be two spots up from last season.”

Spidell believes that each one of the athletes has their own particular goal. However, as a team, they will rely on their “team bonding, consistency throughout our games, and keeping each other motivated.”

Both teams will compete next at 9 a.m. The men hit the lanes at EZ Bowl in Bluffton, Indiana, and the women at Crest Lanes in Marion.