ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Arkansas State University head coach Justin Kostick on his team’s performance throughout the tournament: “They competed very well in every game. It’s just one of those things that happens. In this game, there has to be a winner and a loser.”
Kostick on whether he believed that momentum had shifted after his team caught a break to win the third game in the match against Nebraska: “When that happened, I thought we were going to win the match in five games. Nebraska got some fortunate carries against us in game six, and take nothing away from Nebraska because they played well.”
Kostick on whether Nebraska’s past experience helped them rebound from the tough loss in game three: “I think that is a little part of it. They got some key breaks in key situations that helped them win the match.“
Sophomore Santoro on her personal performance throughout the tournament: “When I started off with a 290 in the first game on Thursday, it kind of got me going right from the start. Bowling well in all of our team games kind of kept everybody going. Coming into the second day, I thought we had a great chance of doing well due to the fact that we were pumped, everyone was bowling well, and we were getting along well as a team.“
Senior Marissa Martinek on whether it was difficult to adjust to a new head coach during her senior season: “Sometimes it was, and sometimes it wasn’t. His big word is fundamentals.”
Albany, New York native Martinek on being able to compete for a national championship in the East: “It felt really great to be home. We arrived here and I was excited just to be in the Eastern time zone. More than half of our team is from the East Coast and all of our parents and other relatives got to attend. This is a place that’s not too hard to get to for our supporters.”
Reinholds, Pennsylvania native Santoro on competing for the national title in the East: “I loved it. I love the East Coast and the energy. It was great to see people that have never been to the East Coast experience what we experienced growing up. Some people don’t like it, but that’s okay. I actually bowled in this center in high school for the Denny’s national tournament. I didn’t bowl well in that tournament. I came in second and lost in the finals.”
Martinek on what the general public doesn’t understand about competing in collegiate bowling: “More than anything, I don’t think they understand the format. We bowl team games, and we bowl baker format, and when you try to explain the baker format to people, they look at you like you’re crazy. People also don’t understand what coach is always telling us, that we’re not competing against the other team, but rather we’re competing against the pins. They also don’t understand that when you strike, it’s just pure emotion and adrenaline that runs through you. You have to be a part of it to understand what goes into collegiate bowling.”
Kostick on how difficult the normal high-average league bowler would find the conditions that collegiate bowlers compete in: “They’d lose 40 pins off their average. A lot of times a house bowler that averages 220 loses 40 pins when they bowl under these lane conditions with this level of intensity.”
Santoro on how much of the game is luck and how much is skill when competing at this level: “I would like to say that a lot more skill is involved, but nowadays, bowling is more about luck than it is skill. You have to have skill to know what you’re doing, but when you throw a good shot, it’s all luck in terms of whether the pins are going to carry for you or not.”
Martinek on which team she predicts will claim the national championship later tonight: “I really don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to see FDU bowl in bakers yesterday, but I think this thing is set up again for Nebraska. I think Nebraska is going to repeat.”
Santoro on whether FDU’s home crowd will give them an advantage in the national championship match: “Mentally, I think it will give them a boost because I suspect that a large majority of the crowd will be cheering for them.”
Nebraska alum Kostick on whether he will be pulling for his alma mater later tonight: “My wife bowled on the team and obviously I competed for Coach Straub. I really felt the two best teams competed against each other early today and yesterday.”
Kostick on the crowd support his team received during the week: “Part of that is the fact that we have five girls from the East Coast on the team. Even the girls from the South had their parents attend up here, along with the parents of players from Texas and Louisville. We had a lot of family support all week.”
Kostick on his team’s championship experience in New Jersey: “I told [NCAA committee chair] Frank [Parisi] that this is a great venue for this tournament because it was a great hotel and bowling center location. We had a lot of top-notch pros that were in the area like Johnny Petraglia, Parker Bohn III, Kelly Kulick, Caroline Dorin-Ballad and Tommy Delutz. The atmosphere in this area was a great thing for the players to experience. I thought the guest speakers and the facility were all terrific. We didn’t have one call machine-wise, and that is a big factor in competition because when you get a breakdown, it messes with your momentum. I thought the whole tournament was great.”
