The Central Florida women and Lindenwood men earned the top seeds heading into match play after qualifying Thursday at the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships.

The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, featuring the top 16 men's and top 16 women's college bowling teams in the country vying for national titles, is being held at AMF Peach Lanes and runs through Saturday.

Central Florida (pictured right) led the women's field with a 32-game total of 6,263, an average of 195.7 in the Baker-system format (five players combine for one game). The McKendree women finished second with 6,108, while Wichita State was third with 6,062.

"The lanes played quite a bit different after the re-oil and our girls got a look they like to see," Central Florida coach Kendra Gaines said. "We still have a ton of work to do, but it's nice to be the No. 1 seed. It's anyone's tournament from here, and we have to bring our business game tomorrow."

On the men's side, Lindenwood (left) finished with 6,613, an average of 206.6, to lead Webber International, which finished with 6,484. Robert Morris-Illinois was third 6,354.

"We practiced a lot before we came out here," Lindenwood anchor bowler RJ Klann said. "We made good shots and played the lanes right today. I think we have a really good idea of how to play the lanes and will have a chance to make a run in the bracket."

All teams advanced to the double-elimination, match-play bracket Friday, where the field will be cut to the top four men's and women's teams by the end of the day. The semifinals will be conducted Saturday morning with the top two men's and women's teams advancing to the nationally televised finals, which will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on ESPN2 on May 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Bowling fans can watch free live streaming coverage on BOWL.com all the way through the semifinals. Coverage will begin at 8 a.m. Eastern on Saturday and Sunday.

 

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2011 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships - Men's Qualifying (32 games)

1, Lindenwood, 6,613
2, Webber International, 6,484
3, Robert Morris-Illinois, 6,354
4, Wright State, 6,324
5, Purdue, 6,322
6, Newman, 6,189
7, Saginaw Valley State, 6,121
8, Wichita State, 6,120
9, Rochester Institute of Technology, 6,090
10, Calumet College, 6,090
11, Kansas, 6,052
12, Fresno State, 5,952
13, Toledo, 5,933
14, Pikeville, 5,930
15, Morehead State, 5,924
16, Davenport, 5,873

 

2011 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships - Women's Qualifying (32 games)

1, Central Florida, 6,263
2, McKendree, 6,108
3, Wichita State, 6,062
4, Kutztown, 5,977
5, Maryland Eastern Shore, 5,973
6, Florida State, 5,949
7, Webber International, 5,934
8, Wisconsin-Whitewater, 5,904
9, Robert Morris-Illinois, 5,875. 10, Adelphi, 5,829
11, Lindenwood, 5,796
12, Pikeville, 5,793. 13, Bellarmine, 5,726
14, Midland, 5,639
15, West Texas A&M, 5,545
16, Newman, 5,502