Women's bowling earned the No. 2 seed and then advanced to the semifinals of match play while the men's squad took 18^th at the 25^th Annual Leatherneck Classic November 8-9 in Rockford, Illinois.

The Lady Lions started well in team competition on Saturday, firing 962 in game one to be among the top three teams in the field, but a rough game two of 866 dropped them back in the standings. Lindenwood was solid from there with games of 1009, 920, and 960 for an overall day one total of 4717. That put the Lady Lions in third place just 53 pins behind tournament leader Judson and 22 pins behind second place Calumet College of St. Joseph. Lindenwood also had a 123-pin advantage over fourth place Indiana Tech.

The Lady Lions started slowly in baker competition on Sunday with an opening set of 692, but in a lower scoring environment from the day before, they actually extended their lead over fourth place. Lindenwood struggled to find consistency but managed a 245 game in set two and a 243 game in set three. With overall sets of 757 and 741, the Lady Lions took over second place and were just 87 pins behind Judson for first, but a set of 716 ended any thoughts of taking over the top spot. With a baker total of 2906 (181.63 average) and a grand total of 7623, Lindenwood finished second, 65 pins behind Judson in first and 108 pins ahead of Mount Mercy in third.

As the No. 2 seed, the Lady Lions faced the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in the quarterfinals of best-of-five baker match play. The opening game was fairly close until a string of strikes allowed Lindenwood to pull away for a 199-164 win. The Lady Lions filled nine of 10 frames in game two and outlasted the Fighting Saints 188-162 for a 2-0 lead in the match. On the verge of being swept, St. Francis had other ideas in game three and easily claimed it 221-149. Lindenwood regrouped in game four with 10 clean frames and two doubles for a 210-176 victory and a 3-1 match win.

No. 3 seed Mount Mercy was the opponent in the semifinals and the Mustangs jumped in front early in game one and cruised to a 226-137 victory. The Lady Lions found some footing in game two and built a lead and held on for a 180-175 win to tie the match, but Mount Mercy controlled things from there. The Mustangs were hot and quickly won the next two 213-173 and 217-182 to finish the match and advance to the finals where they took the tournament title. It marked the third time this season that the Lady Lions lost to the eventual winner in the semifinals of match play.

In men's competition, the Lions started slowly in team competition on Saturday and never really made it over the hump. There were several solid individual games bowled, but it was difficult to get five players going at once. After posting just 858 in game one, Lindenwood followed with games of 977, 980, 972, and 997. Consistent efforts, but well off the scoring pace of the top teams. With a day one total of 4784, Lindenwood sat in 15^th place, over 500 pins behind the tournament leader, but just 248 pins behind the top eight cut line for match play.

The Lions needed a good start and day in baker play on Sunday, but that is not what happened. It took until game 11 before they broke 200 for the first time. The result was opening sets of 686 and 696. A 216 game helped Lindenwood post 727 in set three and a 252 game aided a 751 for set four, but with a baker total of 2860 (178.75 average), the Lions lost ground in the standings. With a grand total of 7644, Lindenwood finished in a tie for 18^th place with Viterbo University, 467 pins out of match play.

In other action, the Lady Lions Junior Division squad finished fourth out of 13 teams, and the top Junior Division Lions team finished eighth out of 25.

Individually, Liz Rittenour led the Lady Lions with a five-game total of 1051 (210.2 average), including high games of 234 and 224. That was enough for fourth place in the field of 249 players and a spot on the Women's All-Tournament Team. Carissa Merkle posted a total of 982 (196.4 average) including a high game of 225 to finish 11^th and after four straight All-Tournament Team honors, Hailey Bozych took 29^th with 926 (185.2 average). Sadie Bettendorf took 47^th with 891 (178.2 average).  

With a five-game total of 1089 (217.8 average), which included high games of 258 and 242, Emmanuel McPherson finished 13^th to lead the Lions. Alex David posted 1035 (207 average) to take 35^th place in the field of 456 while Mike Anderson claimed 56^th with 1007 (201.4 average). Isaiah Armstrong finished 83^rd with 946 (192.8 average) and Dylan Love was 89^th with 957 (191.4 average). Charlie Burns averaged 199.5 for four games to help the Lions.

After five straight tournament weekends, the men's and women's bowling squads get a weekend off before returning to the lanes for the National Team Match Games November 22-23. The Lions will bowl in Fairview Heights, Illinois while the Lady Lions will compete in Belleville, Illinois.