A pair of female bowlers from Hudson Valley Community College recently teamed up to capture a national title. Linda Follett of Colonie and Nicole Nault of Lansingburgh won the doubles crown at the NJCAA championship tournament in Buffalo on March 9-11.
Follett and Nault, both first-year students, rolled a combined 1,197, best in the nation among junior college duos. Follett also qualified as a First Team All-American, finishing second in the all-event competition. Follett finished fourth in the singles competition.
"Linda had the highest average of any female bowler ever at Hudson Valley," head coach Joe Prest said.
Follett finished the year with a 207 average and won four tournaments this season. As a result of a tournament she won in February, Follett will take advantage of an all-expenses-paid trip to Reno, Nev., this May, to compete for the singles title at an Association of College Unions competition. At the upcoming tournament, Follett will compete against the top 23 female bowlers in the nation, who all hail from four-year schools. She is the only female from a two-year college.
Follett and Nault were both named to the All-Region III team, and Nault also won the all-event title at the NJCAA Region III championship at Mohawk Valley Community College on February 27.
The Hudson Valley Community College women finished the season ranked second in the nation among junior college teams. The Lady Vikings posted a 48-20 overall record and were undefeated in Mountain Valley Conference action, winning 15 contests.
The men's bowling team at Hudson Valley Community College finished the season ranked fifth in the nation among junior college squads. The men were 76-60 on the season and captured the Mountain Valley Conference title with a 19-1 record.
First-year student Paul Bonesteel of Colonie shot a 300 during the Region III championship tournament and finished second in the all-event competition. Bonesteel earned First Team All-Region honors.
Hudson Valley Community College, located in Troy, offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs in four academic divisions; Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, Hudson Valley has an enrollment of more than 9,000 students each year, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and worker retraining.