The 2015 CUNYAC/MCU Bowling Intramural Championship took place on Friday, March 20th at Jib Lanes in Flushing, NY. A total of 38 bowlers laced up hoping to take home the title. In the end, it was Christopher Tobias from the College of Staten Island taking home the victory, defeating Baruch’s Mark Hulser 170-150 in the Final game.

“It was a very good time,” said Tobias. “My competitors bowled well but I happened to take the upper hand against them.”

Bowlers bowled three qualifying games in which the top five series advanced to a step-ladder final. It took a total series of 528 to advance to the next round.

Hulser got the striking underway early and never looked back en route to his Championship game appearance. He fired games of 212, 224, and 183 in the three game qualifying round to earn the tournament’s top seed.

The #3 seeded Ellen Huynh from Queens College shot a career-high 233 game in game 3 to jump into the top five. She faced off against #4 Kevin Ultsh of Hunter and #5 Damian Walsh of Queens College in a three-person shotgun round, where the winner earned the right to advance to bowl the #2 seeded Tobias. Walsh came out on top, firing a 212 game to advance over Ultsh’s 190 and Huynh’s 148. Huynh’s fifth place finish was the best finish by a female bowler.

In the semifinal match, the competitors kept the game close. With Tobias stepping on the lanes in the tenth, all he needed was a mark to ensure his place in the title game. He struck and finished with a 191 game to advance over Walsh’s 182.

The title match started out slowly, as no strikes were thrown through five frames. The bowlers were tied at 65 midway through the game and it appeared the match would come down to who could make the most spares.

Hulser had a chance to take the lead in the 8th frame but left a 4-10 split, which he could not convert. With the match in Tobias’ hands, he also split, leaving the 4-6. After getting one pin, both bowlers were tied at 122. Tobias then struck in the 9th.

Hulser also struck in 9th to keep the pace. He hit the pocket on the first shot in the tenth frame but left an unfortunate 7-pin. He missed on the spare conversion, concluding his game with a 150 score. All Tobias needed was a mark to win, and mark he did. He threw a near perfect strike to seal Hulser’s fate. The final score was 170-150.

“I just bowled my own game,” said Tobias. “I’m glad I represented CSI as a winner.”

“It’s about time,” said Hulser on what it means to have a CUNY-wide Bowling event. “Every other sport has an event, so why not bowling?”

The next CUNYAC/MCU Intramural Championship event will take place on Saturday, April 18 at BMCC when the Co-Ed Volleyball Champions are crowned. For more information on the CUNYAC Intramural Championship Series, click here.