LAS VEGAS – The No. 8 ranked Saint Xavier University men's bowling team advanced to the 16-team tournament finals, falling in the first round, after they finished eighth out of 60 teams with 8,322 pins at the two-day Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational on December 18 and 19. The Cougars had another Top 10 team draw at the two-day Collegiate Shoot-Out Tournament on December 20 and 21, totaling 8,542 pins, missing the cut for the eight-team tournament final by only 101 pins. Helping SXU reach the tournament finals at the Glenn Carlson Invite was a trio of bowlers as sophomore Joseph Blonski (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) tallied 1,733 pins to tie for 21^st after eight games on Thursday, along with senior Bobby Habetler (Park Ridge, Ill./Indiana Tech/St. Patrick) placing 26^th with 1,720 pins and senior Daniel Esguerra (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) with his mark of 1,707 pins to finish 30^th overall. In the first round of the tournament, No. 8 Saint Xavier to No. 9 Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) in five games in the best-of-five format (162-254, 192-149, 192-168, 165-200, 223-244). In the championship, No. 1 Mount Mercy University (Iowa) bested No. 2 Wichita State University (Kan.) in a sweep (241-204, 200-182, 196-165).

At the Collegiate Shoot-Out, junior Tyler Pedersen (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) was 20^th overall with a total of 1,112 pins over five games with an average of 222.4. He struck a high of 268 pins in game two, along with 236 pins in game one, 204 in games three and five, and 200 pins in game four. No. 4 seed University of St. Francis (Ill.) won the tournament after they took second in their four-time semifinal bracket, hitting 924 pins in four Baker Games. The Fighting Saints tallied the same total to claim the championship.

Glenn Carlson Invite:

• Blonski averaged a score of 216.6, hitting a high of 267 pins in game two. He also surpassed 200 pins in game four (226), game six (232), game seven (231) and game eight (240).
• Habetler rolled an average of 215.0, toppling a high of 258 pins in game four. He eclipsed 200 pins in game one (209), game three (219), game five (226), game six (225), game seven (202) and game eight (216) as well.
• Esguerra came away with an average of 213.4 and a high of 247 pins in game two. He posted 200 or more pins in game three (235), game four (202), game five (210), game six (206), game seven (206) and game eight (217).
• Pedersen bowled in the first seven games, hitting 1,416 pins for an average of 202.3. He struck a high of 277 pins in game three along with 234 pins in game two.
• Junior Jason Laba (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) competed in five games, striking 960 pins for an average of 192.0. He hit a high of 213 pins in game one, followed by a score of 202 in game two.
• Junior Andrew Rossini (Streamwood, Ill./South Elgin) saw action in three games. He hit 176 pins in game four, a high of 213 pins in game four and 209 pins in game eight.
• Senior Spencer Mosher (Ormond Beach, Fla./Concordia/Seabreeze) recorded a score of 188 in game eight.

Collegiate Shoot-Out:

• Esguerra tied for 73^rd with a total of 1,027 pins in five games for an average of 205.4. He hit a high of 223 pins in game five, along with 214 pins in game one, 222 in game two and 204 in game three.
• Habetler collected 1,016 pins across five games with an average of 203.2. He struck a high of 224 pins in game five, preceded by a scores of 217 in game three and 202 in game four.
• Laba bowled in four games, coming away with 892 pins for an average of 223.0. He posted a high of 265 pins in game three, while also hitting 245 pins in game one and 224 in game two.
• Rossini competed in three games. He hit a high of 205 pins in game three, followed by 201 in game four and 181 in game five.
• Blonski struck 169 pins in game one and 159 in game five, while Mosher hit 138 pins in game two.

No. 8 Saint Xavier returns to action in the New Year when they participate in the two-day Kegel/ISBPA Midwest Collegiate Classic that begins on Saturday, January 17 at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Ill.