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STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The Milligan University men’s and women’s bowling teams each tied for fifth at the 2024 NAIA Bowling National Championships.

The three-day event took place at the 5 Star Lanes in Sterling Heights, Mich., and was hosted by Lawrence Tech University.

Both teams went 2-2 and advanced to round five before being eliminated.

Men’s Championship

The competition began with the seeding process, which uses six Baker sets to determine the brackets. Milligan finished in 11th place out of 12 teams with a total score of 4,702 pins as the Buffaloes bowled at the Final Site for the first time in program history.

Match play was the best of seven games, and Milligan upset No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan in the first round 4-0. The Buffaloes then knocked off No. 3 seed St. Xavier (Ill.) 4-1, but then fell to No. 7 SCAD Savannah (Ga.) in a tight 4-3 battle. SCAD Savannah went on to win the national championship.

The loss dropped Milligan to the elimination bracket, where the Buffaloes fell 4-1 to No. 5 Pikeville.

Women’s Championship

Milligan slotted in sixth with a combined score of 4,525 with a high score of 815 and a low of 657.

The Buffs opened match play with a 4-1 win over No. 11 seed Indiana Tech and followed it with a 4.5-2.5 win over third-seeded St. Francis (Ill.). Milligan then dropped a 4-2 outcome to No. 2 seed Pikeville.

In the elimination bracket, Milligan nearly kept its hope alive but ultimately fell 4-3 to No. 5 seed St. Xavier.

This was the second year in a row the Milligan women advanced to the national tournament. Last year, the Buffaloes went 1-2 and finished tied for ninth.