LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Oklahoma Christian men's bowling headed out west to Las Vegas, Nev., to bowl the Intercollegiate Team Championship Nationals for a chance at winning the first title in program history Apr. 16-20. Junior Connor Fleming also had the opportunity to bowl for the singles title as he bowled the Intercollegiate Singles Championship Nationals Apr. 14-19. 

ISC Day One 

The first day of competition consisted of six games of qualifying and the first two rounds of matchplay. After qualifying, Fleming bowled a pinfall total of 1305 which was good enough to grab the No. 6 seed and a first-round bye in the 24-man field. 

After the completion of the first round of matchplay, Fleming faced off against the No. 22 seed Bryce Massingill out of Northwestern Ohio in a three-game total pinfall match. At the end of the three games, Fleming came out on top with a 664-614 victory to advance to the top-8. 

ISC Day Two

Fleming looked to bowl the No. 3 seed Nicholas Blagojevic out of McKendree. The winner of this three game match would move on to the TV finals and top.4 individually. After three games, Fleming would unfortunately fall with a 581-757 loss to Blagojevic. 

After the loss, Fleming would have the second best finish at the ISC in program history as he finished short of current teammate senior, C.J. Petrin, who made the TV show in 2022. 

ITC Day One

Oklahoma Christian would start the day off with 24 baker games for qualifying to determine seeding for matchplay. At the end of qualifying, the Eagles would finish as the No. 13 seed after a pinfall total of 4882. 

The first round of matchplay, OC faced off against the No. 4 seed and defending national champion, Webber International in a best four out of seven series. 

After going up 2-0, Webber got things rolling to make it a back and forth match going into game seven. After an exhilarating final game, both teams shot 238 to force a one-game roll off.

Oklahoma Christian would unfortunately lose in close fashion for the final game, losing the series 4.5-3.5 and getting sent to the consolation bracket. 

ITC Day Two 

OC would bowl Trine University in the first round of the losers bracket to determine if they would stay alive or get sent home early. After a few close games, the Eagles would unfortunately lose the match 4-1 to officially mark the end of the season finishing 13th of 16 teams in the tournament. 

Even after a tough loss, this marked the best season in program history, surpassing their 2022 season in which they made their debut at the national tournament. 

From Coach Hayes 

"Wow! What a season!" Hayes said. "The guys fought hard all the way to the end and never gave up. Quite an accomplishment to make it to the ITC. I am proud of all of them. Not the ending we hoped for but nothing to hang their heads about!  We will be back stronger and ready to go further."