DES PLAINES, Ill. – The Carroll University women's bowling team put together a strong three-day showing against a 16-team field at the 2026 Windy City Classic, finishing third overall after working its way through Sunday's championship bracket. The Pioneers finished the weekend with an 11,923 pin total across 67 games, averaging 178.0 while posting a 6-7 match record.
Carroll opened the tournament Friday with five Baker matches and immediately posted its best five-game Baker set of the weekend, rolling a 971 in a victory over Thomas More. The Pioneers followed with an 868 against Oklahoma Christian and an 883 against Marian before bouncing back with a 919-850 win over Western Illinois. Carroll closed Baker competition with another strong performance, defeating Indianapolis 948-839. The Pioneers totaled 4,589 pins over the five Baker matches.
Saturday shifted the tournament to the traditional format, where Carroll totaled 4,256 pins across five matches. The Pioneers opened with an 821 against Elmhurst before falling just short against Quincy, 852-841. Carroll answered with one of its biggest results of the weekend, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 885-854. The Pioneers then rolled an 897 against eventual tournament champion McKendree before closing qualifying with an 812 against UW-Whitewater.
Individually, Ava Butt led Carroll during traditional play, finishing 12th overall with a five-game total of 922 and an average of 184.40. Her tournament was highlighted by a 222 in the second traditional match and a 193 in the fifth. Natalie Hirsch was 17th with an 891 series and 178.20 average, including a 198 in the third match and 191 in the fourth.
Allyson Will also provided a strong performance across four traditional games, averaging 184.25 with scores of 169, 178, 191 and 199. Samantha Scorintino totaled 795 across all five games, while Miley Brooks, Grace London and Autumn Vodicka also contributed during the traditional portion of the tournament.
Entering Sunday's championship bracket as the No. 3 seed, Carroll opened against sixth-seeded UW-Whitewater. The two teams battled through seven Baker games before Carroll advanced, with the bracket scoring file listing the match 4-3. That sent the Pioneers into a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed McKendree, where Carroll pushed the eventual champion through six games before McKendree advanced, 4-2.
The Pioneers responded in the position round against fourth-seeded Oklahoma Christian. Carroll won each of the first four games, 203-177, 198-170, 192-169 and 197-135, to secure the 4-0 victory and lock up third place in the 16-team tournament. McKendree went on to win the championship, with Fairleigh Dickinson finishing second and Carroll third.
Carroll's third-place finish capped a weekend in which the Pioneers earned victories over Thomas More, Western Illinois, Indianapolis, Fairleigh Dickinson, UW-Whitewater and Oklahoma Christian while finishing behind only McKendree and Fairleigh Dickinson in the final standings
The Pioneers now turn their attention to Pio Pete's Invite, returning home to Sunset Bowl in Waukesha, WI on Sunday.
