Saeed Husain
Chief Copy Editor
On Nov. 16, The College of Wooster held its final Intramural Bowling Championship this semester at Scot Lanes, the College’s bowling alley, which is closing its doors on Dec. 2.
Cultish Encounter, led by Will Koenig ’18, squared off against Vengabowl, led by Brendan Lemkin ’19. The senior-led team took the championship, bowling to a cumulative score of 1168 in the final.
For Koenig, this victory was extra special. The cross-country varsity athlete had been a part of IM Bowling every year of his time at the College, finishing as runner-up every year from his first year until now.
Describing the winning moment, he said, “It was kind of unreal. I didn’t think, honestly, that we were gonna get to that point. We knew we won when our top two guys bowled really well in the ninth frame, they got their strikes and spares so we knew they were gonna add on to that in the 10th.”
“We were all just hugging each other … we were joking around and telling Brady [Bunnell ’18] that we need this last pin, even though we had already won,” the Cultish Encounter team captain said.
Explaining the difference between this year’s championship team and his teams from previous years that came up short, Koenig cited everyone helping each other as the main reason for their success.
“The matches were pretty regular, so they helped improve our averages over time,” he said. “We were all really consistent in improving ourselves. We focused on improving each other. Each of us saw our weaknesses and where we needed to pick and improve on those. We were kind of there for each other, like if one of us had a bad game, we kind of stepped it up with our other team members.”
With Scot Lanes in its final days, both teams talked about how its closure has affected them.
“The closure of Scot Lanes has left a bowling ball sized hole in my heart,” said Jeremy Smucker ’19, a part of the runner-up team in the last IM Bowling Championship. “Bowling has played an embarrassingly large role in my life over the past seven years, and it’ll be odd to not be on a bowling team any more. I can totally see why Scot Lanes is being replaced; I’m sure the cost of its upkeep did not justify its rather limited usage. That being said, hearing the crash of a strike and getting high fives from the team afterwards is a feeling like no other. I will forever cherish the memories of being able to do that right on my college campus. While my short fling with competitive bowling may be over, the raging fire of my love affair with the beautiful game will rage for decades to come.”