On the last ball, the Ball State women's bowling team knocked down just enough pins -- one to be exact.
In the last frame of the last game of the Intercollegiate Bowling Championship qualifying round, the bowling team beat Purdue by one pin, giving it the fourth and final spot for a trip to the nationals. The qualifying round was held in Lexington, Ky.
"It was very emotional for us because we have two seniors on the team, and they really wanted to make it to nationals again before they graduated," junior member Tiffany Crago said. "We knew we had the potential to go to nationals, but all year we were struggling in a rut."
This is the first time in three years that the team has qualified for nationals. Ball State will compete Thursday and Friday, and the scores those days determine whether the team gets to be one of four that bowl for a national championship on Saturday.
The team, which went into the postseason with a No. 18 national ranking, showed that it was better than its standing by being one of only 16 teams to qualify for nationals.
The seven-member club team, which practices once a week in the Student Center, started competing on October 5 with a fourth-place finish in the Midwest Collegiate Championships. Since that time, the bowlers have been competing in an average of two meets a month.
They have placed first in two meets this season -- the American Heartland I and American Heartland III.
At the Heartland I, sophomore Jamie Keppen finished first with an average score of 205.3 in what she said was her most memorable moment of her bowling career. Seniors Casey Blueher and JoAnna Juenemann also finished in the top 10, finishing in third and seventh, respectively.
At the Heartland III, Ball State placed five bowlers in the top 10, including the top three finishers overall. Juenemann earned first, Blueher second and junior Jennifer Lahrman third.
Juenemann and Keppen have been Ball State's best performers throughout the season, each with six finishes in the top 25. Juenemann has the best average on the team, a 183 in her 88 games bowled this season.
The team does have one member who has bowled a perfect game. Last season in the first tournament of the year, Crago bowled a 300.
"That's probably the thing I will never forget," Crago said. "Every single person in the bowling center stopped and watched in the 10th frame."
At the national meet this weekend, however, individual performances will not be scored, as the team will only compete in Baker games. A Baker game is when five members of the team each bowl two frames in a game. Keppen calls it the epitome of teamwork and one of the reasons the team is so close.
"We are a close team; we're all like sisters, we talk about everything and anything," Crago said. "Our biggest support is each other. We are always encouraging and trying to help each other to become better, and I think that is why our unity is so strong."
The last time the team qualified for nationals, it finished 13th. While the team would like to earn a higher placing for the seniors on the team, they don't have any expectations going into the championship.
"Our goal is to just to keep our spirits up and have a good time and not focus so much on 'we have to get this place,'" Crago said.
"I don't think anybody has any expectations right now," Keppen said. "If we could (finish higher then 13th), I think it would just make it very special."
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