ARLINGTON, Texas. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's bowling team has earned a bid to the Smyrna Sectional for the upcoming Intercollegiate Team Championship, it was announced by the United States Bowling Congress, the national governing body of bowling, on Thursday. The Smyrna Sectional will take place at the Smyrna Bowling Center in Smyrna, Tennessee on March 9-10.
 
Sectional qualifiers are set to take place at four sites across the nation. In addition to Smyrna, AMF Parkway Lanes in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois; and USA Bowl in Dallas, Texas will serve as host sites. Sectional assignments were based on Team Ranking System points earned throughout the USBC Collegiate season. Sectional qualifier fields also took geographic distance, economics and field size into consideration.
 
The Railsplitters qualified in 34^th position out of 172 colleges and universities earning points throughout the regular season, which ran from September to February.
 
All teams will bowl 64 Baker games over two days in four 16-game blocks. The top four in each section earn a trip to the Intercollegiate Team Championship, the national championship tournament to be held in Lincoln, Nebraska.
 
Lincoln Memorial finished ninth out of 18 teams in last year's Smyrna Sectional.
 
LMU posted some solid performances this season, including five top-10 finishes in nine events. The team finished in the top four in three straight events—a program-best runner-up showing at the Orange and Black Classic followed by consecutive fourth-place finishes at the Southern Collegiate and National Collegiate Match Games. Both fourth-place showings matched program highs for a finish at a Tier I event.
 
The Railsplitters were led by freshman Hunter Kempton, who finished ninth nationally in average at 214.33. He made three All-Tournament teams and led all individual bowlers at the Orange and Black Classic, where he also bowled a season-high 299 in a game. The freshman also became the first player in LMU bowling history to make an All-Tournament team in a Tier I event at the Southern Collegiate.
 
National Championship qualifying for singles will also take place at sectionals. Mason Yamada and Brandon St. Onge just missed on qualifying for the national individual championships in last year's event. Yamada missed 6^th place by a mere six pins while St. Onge fell by 28 pins short.
 
Other teams assigned to the Smyrna Sectional include Ball State, Bethel, Emmanuel, Florida State, Huntington, Indiana, Lawrence Tech, Lindsey Wilson, Louisville, Martin Methodist, Michigan State, Ohio State, Pikeville, Rio Grande, Robert Morris-Illinois, Savannah College of Art and Design-Savannah, St. Francis-Illinois, Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
body of bowling, on Thursday.