Nebraska Bowling History and Records

• All-Americans, Scholastic All-Americans
• All-Time Rosters, Schedules, Statistics

In its 25 years as a varsity sport, Nebraska has become one of the top programs in the nation, winning eight national titles, including six NCAA Championships. Under Paul Klempa, who succeeded legendary coach Bill Straub in 2019, the Huskers have continued that dominance, winning a national title in 2021 and having back-to-back bowlers named the NTCA Division I Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021.

In 2021, the Huskers rebounded from losing its opening match to win seven straight matches en route to the program’s first NCAA title since 2015. Crystal Elliott was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, capping a season where she also won NTCA Bowler of the Year. In 2020, Raquel Orozco was named the 2020 NTCA Division I Player of the Year, as the Huskers were in contention for the national crown before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Straub built a legacy of success in his time at Nebraska bowling, winning seven national championships, including five NCAA titles since capturing the inaugural crown in 2004. Once bowling became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in the fall of 2003, the Huskers won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005 and captured another in 2009. The Huskers again added to their trophy case in 2013. After a runner-up finish in 2014, the Huskers stormed to their nation-leading fifth NCAA crown in 2015, behind National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year Lizabeth Kuhlkin and NCAA Championship Most Valuable Bowler Julia Bond.

Nebraska has won 116 tournament titles in 242 competitions through the 2021-22 campaign including eight national championship tournaments. Straub and Klempa have created a dynamic foundation for Nebraska’s success. With a world-wide approach to recruiting, Nebraska bowlers have been well-represented in national and international competitions.

A total of 14 Husker bowlers have qualified for their national teams, including U.S. National Team members Shannon Pluhowsky, Diandra Asbaty (Hyman), Brenda Edwards, Kayla Johnson, Elise Bolton, Lizabeth Kuhlkin and most recently Julia Bond. Recent Huskers Danielle van der Meer (Netherlands), Valerie Calberry (Canada), Shalima Zalsha (Indonesia), Tan Yan Ling (Singapore), Andrea Ruiz (Colombia), Bethany Hedley (England) and Alexandra Mosquera (Colombia) all have earned spots on their national team.

While the Husker team accomplishments have been paramount, numerous bowlers have also enjoyed individual success. NU has had at least one All-American in each of the last 29 years, dating back to the bowling club program days. Since 1989, 37 Huskers have combined for a total of 81 All-America awards, while Kim Berke (1992), Diandra Hyman (2000), Shannon Pluhowsky (2001, 2004, 2005), Lindsay Baker (2006), Amanda Burgoyne (2007), Cassandra Leuthold (2010), Lizabeth Kuhlkin (2015), Raquel Orozco (2020) and Crystal Elliott (2021) were each chosen as the National Collegiate Bowler of the Year.

Nebraska has provided the vision of the future for collegiate bowling, championing the sport at the national level through its club program days. Straub and Klempa teamed for the first year of bowling as a varsity sport at Nebraska in 1997-98. The first year was historic in several respects, but most important was granting of the first full scholarship in the sport’s history to Jennifer Daugherty, who went on to earn first-team All-America honors in both 1998 and 1999. In the 18 seasons that the NCAA has sanctioned bowling, Nebraska is the only program to qualify for the NCAA Championship every season.

Nebraska National Championships
1999 (IBC) - Recap
2001 (IBC) - Recap
2004 (NCAA) - Recap
2005 (NCAA) - Recap
2009 (NCAA) - Recap
2013 (NCAA) - Recap
2015 (NCAA) - Recap
2021 (NCAA) - Recap