EULESS, Texas - Newman University's Matt Pope claimed third place at the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships, which concluded Tuesday at Euless Lanes in Euless, Texas. Pope was the only Newman bowler competing in the event.

As the No. 8 seed in the 24-man field, Pope earned a first-round bye, and had a chance to watch his first opponent, 24th-seeded McKendree's Matt Anastasia upset Wichita State's Josh McBride, 3-0. When his time finally came to bowl, Pope jumped on Anastasia for a 197-165 win in the opening game of the best-of-five series. Pope took a 2-0 advantage after a 200-193 win in the second game, but Anastasia rallied for back-to-back wins to force a decisive fifth game. Pope's fifth game of his opening round match was as close as it could be, but Pope picked up a narrow 224-223 win to advance to the third round with a 3-2 series win.

Fresh off a five-game win in his opening round, Pope found himself up against the top seed in the tournament, North Carolina State's Nick Davis. Again, Pope took the early advantage with a 225-195 win over Davis in the opening game. Davis answered with a 182-172 win in the second game before Pope took advantage of another one-pin win in the third game, picking up a 179-178 decision. That win allowed Pope to steal the momentum in the match, and ultimately pushed Pope past the top-seeded Davis with a 170-165 win in the fourth game to advance to the semi-finals.

Pope found himself up against fourth-seeded Jacob Kent, who represented Robert Morris (Ill.) in the semi-finals, and found himself behind the eight-ball after the first game, which Kent won 203-190. Pope answered with a 202-190 win in the second win, but Kent responded with back-to-back wins to end Pope's run with a 3-1 decision.

Kent went on to drop a 3-2 decision in the tournament championship.

Pope will have two more chances to try to win a USBC Intercollegiate Singles championship, starting with his junior season in 2012.

USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championship
Rd. 2: (8) Matt Pope (Newman) def. (24) Matt Anastasia (McKendree), 3-2 (197-165, 200-193, 176-200, 219-247, 224-223)
Rd. 3: (8) Matt Pope (Newman) def. (24) Nick Davis (NC State), 3-1 (225-195, 172-182, 179-178, 170-165)
SF: (4) Jacob Kent (Robert Morris) def. (8) Matt Pope (Newman), 3-1 (203-190, 190-202, 192-191, 213-204)

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