Matt Gasn on the Grind
Collegiate Bowling
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Collegiate bowling…THE MOST exhilarating bowling environment I have ever competed in, hands down. There is no feeling like needing to throw a strike to win a match in baker competition, and then turning around after you throw it to see your teammates yelling at the top of their lungs and storming onto the approach to celebrate. After almost every tournament, I usually don’t have a voice, my hand hurts from slapping high fives so hard, and I feel like I could sleep for a week. But it’s all worth it. It is so different from singles competition, and it’s an experience that every young bowler should get. It’s not even just about the bowling. The friendships you will create while at college will last a lifetime. If it wasn’t for college bowling, I honestly don’t know if I would have gone to college. Not only does college bowling provide another level of competition, but an opportunity to further my education so I can have opportunities later in life as well. The most memorable experience I have had thus far in my college bowling career is winning the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championship at Robert Morris University. You can watch Robert Morris’ National Championship win by clicking HERE. This is what bowling for college is all about. To get to this match on TV!
At Robert Morris, all of the bowlers live in the same building and the majority of us live on the same floor. Since we are always in close proximity, we are constantly in and out of each other’s rooms. College kids get bored easily and come up with the dumbest things possible to entertain themselves. One time a teammate of mine, Jacob Kent, and I went to the McDonalds next door from where we live, in downtown Chicago, and bought 20 double cheeseburgers, 6 large fries, and a cup full of mac sauce. We went back to the apartment and cooked about 2-3 lbs of bacon, and proceeded to make cheeseburger lasagna. Bottom layer, 6 cheeseburgers, then fries, bacon, cheese, mac sauce, followed by 6 more cheeseburgers, the French fries, bacon, cheese, and mac sauce. It was a heart attack in a pan! LOL We barely ate any of it, it was just so much food!
I would have to say that my favorite thing about college bowling has to be the van rides to and from tournaments. Just imagine eight or more college kids in a van for several hours. Nothing good can come from that! At Robert Morris, it usually turns into a jam session where we are all fighting over the aux cable to play our music. The battle for whoever gets to ride shotgun is usually pretty epic also. Every time you decide to close your eyes for a nap in the van, you put yourself at risk of something happening to you, especially if you sleep with your mouth open like I do. My favorite story ever from the van rides would have to be this one time; Marshall Kent had to pee really badly and couldn’t hold it until the next rest area. So naturally, he peed in a water bottle in the van. Since he didn’t want to hold a bottle of pee for the rest of the trip. Jacob Kent was sitting in the passenger seat, and Marshall climbed up to the front and rolled Jakes window down to pour the pee out the window. Well, let’s just say that didn’t end up working out so well. It ended up getting sucked back in the van from the wind, and went all over Jake’s face as well as a few others in the van. Jake turned around and had pee drops all over his glasses! LOL
There’s just never a dull moment in College Bowling….I love it!
