Saint Anselm College is continuing to add to its wide variety of varsity sports offered on campus, especially for Women’s sports. Beginning this year, Saint Anselm College is assembling a women’s bowling team to compete for the NCAA national championship. 

Saint Anselm is now the third New England-based college to offer Women’s bowling. Since 2015, 24 institutions have added Women’s bowling to their offerings, making it one of the fastest growing sports in the NCAA ranks. College President Joseph Favazza spoke regarding this new addition to women’s sports saying in a press release, “With the introduction of women’s bowling, Saint Anselm continues to provide athletics opportunities to female student-athletes in a growing sport.” 

Bowling’s popularity is on the rise, specifically with the younger crowd. In the same press release, Saint A’s found that “According to the most recent report from the National Federation of State High School Associations, girls bowling is sponsored by high schools in 28 states and over 28,000 students were participants on 2,925 teams across the country. Women’s bowling was listed among the initial NCAA Emerging Sports for Women in 1994 and attained NCAA Championship status in 2004.” 

It was only a matter of time before Saint A’s got in on the bowling craze and its rising popularity. This addition marks it as the eleventh women’s varsity sport offered on campus, adding to the college’s wide repertoire of women’s varsity sports. 

Tim Frye is the Head Coach of the new program, and he is incredibly enthusiastic about a new varsity sport coming to campus. “The process of starting a new program has been exciting. We are introducing a sport to campus that most are not well-versed in. It provides an opportunity to educate the campus as to what bowling can offer, along with the understanding of why our student-athletes are so dedicated. This year has been about finding the foundation of our team, and I believe we have succeeded there with a diverse class of bowlers on the roster,” Frye said. 

Needless to say Coach Frye is very optimistic and very eager to get into the height of the season. Anselmians can also get involved with the team as well. When asked about how the community can get involved, Coach Frye said, “For those who are interested in our sport and becoming a member of our team, I would encourage them to reach out to me and visit us at a practice. Another way Anselmians can become involved and support the team is to interact with our team members – this is step one to understanding why we are passionate about this sport.” 

In essence, there are plenty of ways that everyone in the Anselmian community can get involved. The team was ranked ninth in the ECC’s preseason poll. Coach Frye had this to say in regards to the team’s expectations for the season: “I have the expectation that our team will improve in all facets as our first season progresses”. I can say with confidence that Coach Frye has full faith in this program, this team, and their success soon to come in the future.