Men's Bowling Impressive in First Conference Meet of Season

Oct. 30, 2007

WALLINGTON, NJ - The men's bowling team finished its first Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Conference tournament with a record of 24.5-23.5. Senior Shaun Ihasz (Coram, NY) and junior Peter Ruggiero (Yorktown, NY) both averaged 211 to lead the Pioneers.

The Pioneers started slow with a 894 - 1039 loss to Stevens Tech taking only 1 of 8 match points. This poor performance prompted Coach McKeon to call upon his lone senior at the tournament, Ihasz for game two and the rest of the tournament. Ihasz responded winning four of his five match points.

The Pioneers bowled better in their second match against conference powerhouse St. John's but still only managed to take two match points. This prompted another move from coach McKeon deciding to put in Dan Tamburro (Franklin Lakes, NJ), who had left after the first game. This move also paid off as Tamburro shot 710 his first three games back in the lineup.

The Pioneers then got hot and bowled their two most impressive games of the season, manhandling conference rival Western New England College in a 6-2, 1055- 921 victory. The Pioneers then rolled over Army in their most impressive game of the tournament, a 1120-897, 6.5-1.5 rout.

In game five, the Pioneers ran into an equally-hot Monmouth team. The match was the most intense and emotional of the day. The Pioneers bowled well but fell 6-2 in a 1023-1110 final.

The tournament was an encouraging one for the Pioneers. "We bowled well today and our performance will give us confidence for the rest of the season," said Ihasz.

The Pioneers had four bowlers average over 200: Ruggiero (211), Ihasz (211), team anchor and Captain Rob Matz (Coram, NY) (207), and Tamburro (205). Sophomore Nick Fusilli (Wall, NJ) also greatly contributed bowling all six games of the tournament and averaging 195.

The Pioneers will be back in action November 10th and 11th at the Penn State Classic in State College, PA.