BUFFALO — The Fulton-Montgomery Community College bowling team completed its inaugural season on Saturday with a respectable finish at the NJCAA National Tournament held in Buffalo. The Raiders co-ed team finished 13th out of 19 teams bowling against only men’s teams.
“I thought they did really well at Buffalo, it was a new experience for all of them and I think they really enjoyed it,” FMCC Coach Tom Rathbun said. “It is a lot of bowling in two days over a very challenging oil pattern and everything considered; they performed well. On the last day you bowl against the team you are closest to in the standings and we faced Herkimer College. We trailed Herkimer by eight pins going into the day and it remained close all day long. We bowled three traditional games and then 9 Baker style format games. The lead traded back and forth between teams all day long and going into the final game, we trailed Herkimer by six pins. In the final game our bowlers responded well with a 172 game to secure the 13th place finish.”
Damian Sullivan finished 16th out of 97 bowlers in the men’s singles competition with a 572 total.
High games for the weekend were Sullivan with a 226, Donavon Derenzo 223, Charlie Cusano 186, Daniel McCoy 177, Kendra Sweet 168, Matt Frisch 167, Shirley Glynn 162, and Sydney Palmatier with a 148.
“With any first year program there are going to be some growing pains, but I was very proud of the efforts these young men and women put forth this year,” Rathbun said. “Nearly all of them will be back next year and I’m very excited about the new bowlers we have recruited. This year’s team worked hard all year and always tried their best. I think more importantly, however, they conducted themselves as fine young adults and represented FMCC in a very positive manner.”
