JACKSON, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University women's bowling team opened the 2026-27 season on top of the leaderboard Saturday, finishing first among 12 teams at the WHAC Open at JAX 60.
 
The Cougars finished with a tournament-best 6,092 pins, winning the event by 139 pins over Lawrence Tech. Saint Francis placed third with 5,932, followed by Indiana Tech with 5,662 and Aquinas with 5,613.
 
Spring Arbor opened the tournament with traditional team games of 924, 903 and 1,004, giving the Cougars 2,831 pins heading into Baker play. SAU followed with Baker scores of 745, 850, 866 and 800 to pull away for the tournament title. The Cougars finished the day with a team average of 196.52.
 
Spring Arbor also placed three bowlers inside the top 20 of the individual standings.
 
Ella Steinke led the Cougars with an 11th-place finish, posting a three-game total of 588. Steinke rolled games of 180, 202 and 206. Mackenzie Pilny followed just behind, tying for 12th place with a 587 series on games of 190, 204 and 193.
 
Maggie Smith rounded out Spring Arbor's top-20 finishers, tying for 19th place with a 574 series. Smith recorded games of 200, 171 and 203.
 
Spring Arbor's 6,092-pin performance gave the Cougars a 139-pin cushion over runner-up Lawrence Tech as SAU began its season with a tournament championship.

Spring Arbor will compete in the NAIA Invitational in Addison, Illinois on Oct. 16-17.