Coming off of its first appearance in the NCAA Championship in program history, the Valparaiso bowling team earned its highest preseason ranking in its four-year existence, as the Crusaders enter the 2012-2013 campaign ranked #9 nationally in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) preseason poll.

The Crusaders tallied 309 points for the ninth-place placement, just 14 points behind Sam Houston State for eighth position.  Two-time defending national champion Maryland Eastern Shore earned 14 of the 23 first-place votes and tallied 634 points to sit atop the preseason poll, while the other six squads which comprised the 2012 NCAA Championship field sit second through seventh in the rankings.

Valpo enters the 2012-2013 season with seven returnees from last year’s squad, which became the first team in Crusader athletics history to reach #1 in the nation.  The Crusaders also welcome six freshmen and a pair of transfers to the team as well.