This past weekend, the SAU men's bowling squad continued its unprecedented start to the 2025-26 season.

Teams traveled to the 10th Annual Five Seasons Classic, held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event is a unique match-play event, with points awarded for each match won, with five matches contested on Saturday, and five more on Sunday.

The men got off to a hot start, going 5-0 on Saturday. Returning Sunday, they repeated that performance, logging another 5-0 ledger to finish the event undefeated at 10-0, capturing the championship. In the varsity division, they were the only team to post an unblemished record. Coe finished as tournament runner-up at 9-1, while tournament host Mount Mercy came in third at 8-2, with their only two losses coming to St. Ambrose. Sixteen varsity teams competed in the event.

St. Ambrose's total pinfall for the event was 9804, as they averaged 217 for their 45 tournament games. The bulk of the scoring coming from junior Kendric Siders and senior Tommy Burns. Siders averaged 251.6, earning tournament MVP honors. Meanwhile, Burns averaged 226.2 to finish as tournament runner-up. Other team members included Tyler Close (1052-five games), Keaten Bieri (910-four games), Devin Richards (785-four games), Kevin Magnuson (158-one game), Lucas Hersrud (150-one game).

The SAU bowling program is in its 17th season (beginning in 2009), and this marks the first time in history that the men's squad has won three consecutive tournament titles. The Bees previously captured the Golden Hammer Challenge and the tier-1 Midwest Collegiate Championships. For those keeping track, in the three tournaments so far in 2025-26, the men have now won 16 consecutive matches and 23 straight games.

The men had two separate JV squads in the event, with both performing admirably. The JV1 team also had a successful run through the tournament, finishing with a 10-0 mark to capture the title. The win didn't come easy, however, as despite entering the position round with a 9-0 mark, that was just a half-point ahead of Coe College, who was assembling its own 8.5-0.5 record. With just a half-point separating the two squads, the champion would be determined in the final match. After St. Ambrose and Coe tied games one and two, just a single pin separated the squads in game three. That set up a one-game battle with the JV championship on the line, with the Bees saving their best for last, as they cranked out a solid 225 to earn the win. This was the third straight JV championship for the Bees.

Team members were Wyatt Honecker (1020-five games), Evan White (1017-five games), Gavin Finley (558-three games), Elias O'Hollaren (553-three games), Evan Flath (542-three games), Dylan Harnden (403-two games), Nicholas Kidd (341-two games) and Jaxon Robinson (327-two games).

St. Ambrose JV2 finished fourth in the 15-team JV field. Team members were Derrick Lewandowski (827-four games), Eli Haack (782-four games), Matthew Edler (738-four games), Chayce Stouffer (591-three games), Drew Ballard (550-three games), Logan Boll (505-three games), Jackson Satterlee (500-three games) and Raiden Nakagawa (159-one game).

The women continued their season with an eighth place finish this past weekend. They compiled a 5-5 record, despite finishing fifth in total pinfall (7946-45 games). After struggling on Saturday, winning just a single match and finishing at 1-4, they battled back to post a 4-1 record on Sunday to reach the .500 mark.

Senior Marissa Bills led the team with an impressive fourth-place showing, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. She averaged 207.4 (1037-five games). Her teammates were Emma Taft (922-five games), Molly Bramble (673-four games), Mia Almeida (636-four games), Kayla Staub (636-four games) and Brooklyn Schlapkohl (442-three games).

The women's JV team finished in ninth place with 6180 pins, while posting a 1-9 record. Team members included Shay Edwards (764-five games), Gianna Koszut (701-five games), Katie Otten (543-four games), Abby Trendle (538-four games), Hannah Stearns (489-four games), Sophie Schillie (337-three games) and Sam Lundvall.

All five Bee teams will return to action this coming weekend at the largest tier-2 event in the nation – the Leatherneck Classic in Rockford, Ill.