Women's bowling finished second to punch their ticket to the national championship tournament, but the men came up short in 12^th place at Sectionals March 14-15 in Smyrna, Tennessee. The event was one of four regional tournaments taking place the same weekend with the top four teams at each location advancing to the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) in mid-April.

After finishing the regular season at No. 6 in the power rankings, the Lady Lions were considered the third highest seed in Tennessee entering the two-day, 64 baker game

marathon, and it didn't take long to establish themselves in the standings. After a tentative start and an opening four-game baker set of 729, Lindenwood had just one game under 192 the rest of the opening 16-game block. With sets of 812, 820, and 840, including high games of 237 and 232, the Lady Lions finished the morning with a total of 3201 (200.06 average) and sat in second place, 26 pins ahead of SCAD – Savannah in third, 82 pins ahead of Alabama – Birmingham in fourth, and most importantly, 161 pins above fifth place.

Another 16-game block followed after a brief lunch break and Lindenwood returned to the lanes with similar success. After starting the afternoon with 744, the Lady Lions posted what would be their best set of the day with 853, including games of 246 and 232. After grinding through a set of 748, they finished the day with 819 and a block two total of 3164. Their overall total of 6365 (198.91 average) kept them in second place at the end of the first day. The Gamecocks maintained a stranglehold on first, with SCAD – Savannah in third, just 22-pins behind Lindenwood. Alabama – Birmingham was still fourth, but now 236 pins behind the Lady Lions with a full day of competition to go.

The morning block for Lindenwood on Sunday looked very similar to the previous day. The Lady Lions didn't break 200 in the first set but were very steady with a total of 756. The next start started slowly, but finished strong with a game of 252 and a total of 795. Lindenwood finished the block with six of eight games over 200 including a high of 255 resulting in sets of 816 and 851. With a block total of 3218 (201.13 average), their highest of the weekend, the Lady Lions had a grand total of 9583 (199.65 average) and once again, maintained second place, 94 pins ahead of the Bees in third, 375 pins ahead of Wright State in fourth, and 480 in front of Alabama – Birmingham in fifth. Jacksonville State held the top spot over 1000 pins ahead of Lindenwood.

The final block of the weekend was a bit more of a roller coaster for the Lady Lions, but the end result was similar to the previous ones. After starting with 180, Lindenwood posted its high game of the weekend with 278, then followed with 168 and 226 for a set of 852. The Lady Lions were on cruise control the rest of the way. With sets of 760, 803, and 748, they finished with a block of 3163 (197.69 average) and a grand total of 12,746 (199.16 average) to secure second place, advancing to the ITC as one of the top four teams. SCAD – Savannah finished third, 299 pins behind Lindenwood, with Cumberland University claiming fourth, 396 pins behind. After 64 baker games, Alabama – Birmingham missed advancement by just 62 pins. Jacksonville State set an event record with a score of 14,259 and a margin to second place of over 1500. The Gamecocks also beat the previous record men's total.

In addition to the four teams advancing to the ITC from the Tennessee Sectional, North Carolina A & T, Louisiana Tech, Newman University, and Tulane advanced from the Fort Worth, Texas location; McKendree, St. Vincent College, Duquesne, and Trine advanced from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania location; and Maryville, Sacred Heart, Mount Mercy, and Central Missouri advanced from the Addison, Illinois location.

The Lady Lions roster included Sadie Bettendorf, Amber Bozych, Hailey Bozych, Isabelle Fletcher, Carissa Merkle, Madie Millsaps, Emilee Mullranin, and Liz Rittenour, with Jasmine Emswiler as alternate.

As well as the weekend went for the women's team, it was the opposite for the Lions. A poor start on Saturday was compounded by rough shot making and spare shooting and an inability to consistently finish a game well. Lindenwood only broke the 200 mark five times out of 16 games in the first block. With sets of 685, 810, 719, and 669, the block total of 2883 (180.19 average) left the Lions in last place in the Sectional field of 20 men's teams, over 600 pins behind the leader and over 400 pins behind the top four cut line.
 

The Saturday afternoon block was better but still plagued with inconsistency. Lindenwood improved with eight of 16 games in the 200's, but the Lions also had six games below 177. They posted sets of 758, 744, 738, and 840 for a block total of 3080 (192.5 average), almost 200 pins more than their morning block, but they still lost ground to the cut line. With a grand total of 5963, Lindenwood had climbed to a tie for 17^th, but was now 570 pins behind the top four cut line. With 32 baker games remaining on Sunday, advancement was looking bleak, but it was still mathematically possible with a huge comeback.

Unfortunately, that is not how things played out. The Lions struggled through the first three sets of the morning block with only two of 12 games above 200. With sets of 751, 728, and 671, Lindenwood lost ground again and any chances of advancing were done. That's when the team finally figured it out and bowled to expectations. Over the course of the final 20 games, the Lions broke 200, 14 times and averaged 208.45, a pace that would have easily been enough to advance. With games of 173, 236, 210, and a weekend high of 247, Lindenwood finished the Sunday morning block with a set of 866. A block total of 3016 (188.5 average) kept the Lions in 17^th place with an overall total of 8979 (187.06 average).

The Lions really showed their capabilities in the afternoon block, starting with games of 227, 217, 201, and 206 for a set total of 851. They backed that up with sets of 819, 836, and 797 for a block total of 3303 (206.44 average). It was their highest block of the weekend by over 200 pins. With a grand total of 12,282 (191.91 average), Lindenwood climbed all the way to 12^th place and was only 41 pins away from making it to 10^th, so the Lions finished on a high note.

Webber International won the Tennessee Sectional with 13,666. They were followed by Belmont Abbey College in second to advance to the ITC for the first time in program history, Purdue in third, and SCAD – Savannah in fourth. Wichita State, Newman University, Southern Nazarene University, and the University of St. Francis (Ill.) advanced from the Fort Worth location; McKendree, Trine, Milligan, and Lawrence Tech advanced from the Pittsburgh location; and Mount Mercy, St. Ambrose, Marian (Wisc.), and Spring Arbor advanced from the Addison location.

The Lions roster included Luke Batchelor, Charlie Burns, Alex David, Shane DeRego, Kaden Lansford, Emmanuel McPherson, Mikael Najarro, and Christian Petersen, with Rolando Ng and Mike Anderson as alternates.

The 2026 ITC is April 16-18 at Ashwaubenon Bowling Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Intercollegiate Singles Sectional
Prior to the team Sectional competition on Saturday and Sunday, Intercollegiate Singles Sectional competition took place on Friday at all four locations. The Lady Lions were able to get 11 entries in Smyrna, Tennessee, but the men's squad was locked out due to a very quick sell-out. Two Lions bowled at other locations, one in Fort Worth and one in Pittsburgh.

The highest finishes for Lindenwood came from the women's team, but no one was able to advance to the Intercollegiate Singles Championship (ISC). Liz Rittenour led the Lady Lions with a six-game total of 1276 (212.67 average) to finish 10^th in the field of 152 but came up 63-pins short of the final advancer spot. Hailey Bozych was right behind in 11^th place with 1271 (211.83 average). Isabelle Fletcher totaled 1171 (195.17 average) to tie for 33^rd place, Maddie Millsaps finished 43^rd with 1148 (191.33 average), Jasmine Emswiler tied for 63^rd with 1112 (185.33 average), and Amber Bozych finished 66^th with 1111 (185.17 average).

Emmanuel McPherson bowled in Fort Worth and was the top Lion, finishing 88^th in the field of 195 with a total of 1166 (194.33 average).