The #15 Valparaiso bowling team was represented by a pair of bowlers on the All-Tournament Teams as the Crusaders concluded the KU Invitational on Sunday in Reading, Pa.

Following a day off from competition due to weather, the tournament concluded on Sunday with five traditional matches. Valpo placed seventh out of the 17 competing teams, totaling 4,896 pins – just 90 pins out of fifth position.

Senior Katherine Sulaitis (St. Charles, Ill./East) earned a spot on the All-Tournament First Team for her performance on Sunday, as she posted an average of 220.2 over the five matches. Joining Sulaitis as a Second Team All-Tournament selection was junior Marianna Guerrieri (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), who averaged a 209.8 over her five matches.

“The last two weekends, we've thrown the ball pretty well and have been out of our comfort zone on the area of the lanes we were playing,” said Crusader head coach Matt Nantais.  “But that's something that we worked on in practice, and it showed as we did throw the ball pretty well this weekend.”

Valpo started action Sunday, truncated due to the Saturday tournament action which was canceled due to weather, against #10 Maryland Eastern Shore. Guerrieri rolled Valpo’s high game of the day with a 241 against UMES, but the Crusaders ended up falling by a 984-935 final. The next match saw Sulaitis roll a 232, Guerrieri post a 201 score and junior Alyssa Meade (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) roll a 204, but it wouldn’t be enough, as Valpo lost 1027-1002 to #6 Fairleigh Dickinson.

Facing host #16 Kutztown in their third match of the day, the Crusaders posted their seventh best traditional match score in program history, winning 1061-963 behind games of 237 from Sulaitis and 229 from Guerrieri, two of four Crusaders to break 200 in the win. A narrow six-pin loss, 983-977, was the result in Valpo’s next match against #11 North Carolina A&T despite games of 215 from Sulaitis and 202 from Meade. The tournament finale saw another close decision go against Valpo, as Sulaitis’ 223 wasn’t enough in a 931-921 loss to #14 LIU Brooklyn.

“We definitely came out today and were very competitive in every match we bowled - every game came down to the 10^th frame, but unfortunately not all of them went our way,” said Nantais. “As a team overall, we are getting better at every event, so we are looking forward to taking aim at winning our conference championship this year.”

Valparaiso (35-40) returns to the lanes next month at UW-Whitewater’s Warhawk Invitational, opening the three-day tournament on Friday, Feb. 19.