On Sept. 29, the men’s and women’s bowling team kicked off the season by heading to Shreveport, Louisiana for a weekend tournament.

Both teams traveled to compete in the Southwestern Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Ⅱ. The women’s varsity team along with the men’s varsity both came in first place on Saturday and Sunday. Both teams were led by coach Ben Hoefs who started the program five years ago. This is Hoefs’ fifth season with the men’s and women’s bowling program. Before heading to West Louisiana, Hoefs said, “I’m very optimistic” in regards to this season.

Jackson Harris and Anna Tankersley helped lead their team to victory this past weekend. Harris is a senior and has been a part of the men’s bowling team since his freshman year at Spring Hill College. Tankersley is a junior this year and has bowled for Hoefs since her freshman year. Both captains believe that their biggest attribute as a captain is to help everyone get lined up before the tournament starts and to give them some advice. Both Harris and Tankersley received first overall in the tournament on Sunday, Oct. 1 in Shreveport.

Before leaving Spring Hill for the tournament, the coach was very hopeful for the season. Hoefs said, “I graduated seven seniors last year, so I got a lot of incoming freshmen, so it’s kind of a rebuilding season. Obviously, we are very optimistic about our chances. We’ve made sectionals every year.” So far the coach is off to a great start this season. A large amount of the incoming freshmen this year are on the women’s team. Tankersley said, “We have a lot of potential. We just need to get some experience under the freshmen’s belt.” She cannot wait to see how they do and hopefully perform well.

With a young team, Hoefs looks towards his seniors and returning members on both the men’s and women’s team to be the leaders. On the men’s bowling team, Hoefs stated he will be leaning on Brian Bodenheimer (senior) and Harris as his leaders. On the women’s team, Caoilinn Murphy (senior), Courtney Wagoner (senior) and Tankersley (junior) will be the three women he will be leaning on for leadership. On Saturday, Wagoner placed fourth all-around, and Tankersley placed fifth. On Sunday, Harris had an exceptional day placing first in all-tournament and Bodenheimer placed second. Tankersley on the women’s team had great performance and placed first in all-tournament. Other members to look out for this season are Danielle Cox (freshman), Averi Laughlin (freshman) and Zach Ward (freshman).

The men’s and women’s team will head to Savannah, Georgia to compete in the SCAD Baker Shootout the last weekend in October. The bowling team has a lot to look forward to this season. Hoefs goal is to make sectionals again. The Badgers bowling team this season could be a force to be reckoned with just like past years. Harris said, “It’s going to be a fun season. We’ll have a lot of fun, and we have good team chemistry.” The Badgers are off to a great start this season at the lanes.