Carr, Kolberg land ATT honors, Mustangs reach match play finals

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy bowlers Elena Carr and Megan Kolberg made the all-tournament team and the Mustangs reached the finals of the Kohawk Invitational hosted by Coe on Saturday and Sunday.

Baker edged Mount Mercy by 39 pins to finish first in qualifying. The Wildcats totaled 8,245 pins while the Mustangs came in at 8,206. While top-seeded Baker was eliminated by fourth-seeded Calumet in the first round of match play, second-seeded Mount Mercy took on third-seeded St. Ambrose in a rematch of the finals at the Storm Baker Challenge two weeks ago.

The Mustangs, who fell to the Bees in that match, took care of business this time around, defeating St. Ambrose, 2-1 (173-214, 221-164, 246-236). In the finals of the Kohawk Invitational, it was Calumet that claimed a 2-1 victory over Mount Mercy (193-235, 245-141, 185-180).

Earning all-tournament honors were Carr and Kolberg, who tied for third, each with 1,076 pins and a 215.2 average. Hailey Howard of Baker was the overall winner with a total pinfall of 1,146. Patricia Alvarado of St. Ambrose was runner-up with 1,100.

The Mustangs remain the second-ranked team in the nation in the week 21 USBC power rankings as they look ahead to the final event of the regular season, the Hoosier Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19-20, in Indianapolis. After that, Mount Mercy begins its quest for a national championship with the USBC ITC and ISC Sectional tournaments March 11-13.