Husker Bowlers Finish Third At NCAA Championships

Las Vegas - The Nebraska bowling team’s season came to an end in the 2025 NCAA Bowling Championship semifinals, as the Huskers fell to Youngstown State, 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. 

Nebraska started off the traditional match against Youngstown State with Haley Swindle, Desiree Buchert, Kayla Verstraete, Anna Callan and Jillian Martin. The two teams previously met on Friday where the Penguins topped the Huskers, 2-0. Verstraete led the Big Red with a 211, followed by freshman Swindle with a 203. Buchert garnered eight strikes and rolled a 190. Martin added a 185 and Callan bowled a 180. As a team, NU put up 969, but were topped by Youngstown State, 1,073-969, as the Penguins took the first point of the mega-match. 

The Cornhuskers kept the same lineup going into the total-pinfall baker five match. Youngstown State started off game one with four strikes, scoring a 255. The Huskers finished the game with seven straight strikes, bowling a 254. In game two, the Penguins bowled a 233 over Nebraska’s 169. The Big Red bowled a clean 227 in the third, fueled by Martin’s four strikes, but were topped by Youngstown State’s 238, giving the Penguins the 726-650 advantage. The Huskers topped the Penguins in game four, 162-153, cutting the total-pin lead to 67 going into the final game. In the fifth, Youngstown State tallied nine strikes and a 246 to take down the Huskers, 1,125-1,006, winning the mega-match, 2-0. 

With the loss, the Huskers finished in third place at the 2025 NCAA Bowling Championship.