NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J.—The William Smith bowling team is shattering the myth of a sophomore jinx. In just their second varsity season, the Herons have secured a share of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference regular season championship.
 
William Smith posted a 9-1 record this weekend in the AMCC's second round robin after posting a 9-1 in the first round robin back in November. The Herons 18-2 mark matched the record of AMCC preseason favorite Saint Vincent. The two teams are AMCC regular season co-champions. The Bearcats will enter next month's AMCC Championship in Pittsburgh as the No. 1 seed by virtue of their 2-0 record against the Herons. William Smith will be the No. 2 seed followed by Alvernia, Penn State Behrend, New Jersey City and Pitt Bradford.
 

"This weekend was a huge test of how we handle adversity because we had players with illness and injuries that we had to navigate and work through," Head Coach Heather Sterner said. "We had to bowl many matches without Michaela [Morgan] who is leading the conference in almost every statistical category. First-year Colleen Jump stepped up huge in multiple matches and ended up second individually for the weekend. It was great to see Elizabeth Krege and Breanna Holland come in and helped out when we needed them this weekend as well.
 
"Overall, I don't think we performed at our full potential, and we still went 9-1 which is exciting because it showed our resilience, and we know how much more we are capable of when we are all 100% healthy!"

 
MATCH SCORES

• William Smith 840, Pitt-Greensburg 824
• St. Vincent 880, William Smith 840
• William Smith 986, La Roche 586
• William Smith 836, Penn State Altoona 744
• William Smith 888, Hilbert 741
• William Smith 832, Pitt-Bradford 769
• William Smith 782, New Jersey City 753
• William Smith 845, Penn State Behrend 746
• William Smith 963, Alvernia 828
• William Smith 763, Mount Aloysius 621

William Smith placed three bowlers in the top 10 in scoring average this weekend.

• Jump led the way with a 183 average, second overall.
• First-year Tiana Wolkiewicz averaged 180.1, which placed her fifth out of 68 bowlers.
• Senior Amber Pidlypchak was ninth overall, averaging 171.2.

 

 
HERON HIGHLIGHTS

• Jump recorded three games of 200 or better this weekend.
• On Saturday, she rolled a 206 against Penn St. Altoon and a 202 against Hilbert.
• Jump saved her best game of the weekend for Sunday, when she notched a 236 in the win over Alvernia.
• The Golden Wolves were tied for first with William Smith and St. Vincent after the first round robin, but went 8-2 this weekend, slipping to third.
• Pidlypchak's 234 led the Herons to victory against La Roche, while Wolkiewicz added a 216 against the Redhawks.
• Sophomore Caitlyn Anschutz paced William Smith in the victory over Hilbert, rolling a 213.

FOR THE RECORD

• William Smith improved to 38-12 on the season. That's more wins than total matches played by the Herons in their first varsity season (32). 

 
UP NEXT

• The Herons will return to action Feb. 24-25 when they compete in the Brunswick Spring Classic hosted by Niagara University.