Austin Gregson ’26 and coach Ken Matsumoto ’25 watch as Adrian Ho ’28 bowls in the second round of the second day of the Tony Reyes Memorial Collegiate Classic. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Once upon a time, Santa Clara University students could bowl a few frames between classes in the Benson Memorial Center basement, where the California Mission Room now hosts lectures and luncheons. Decades later, the sound of crashing pins has returned—just not on campus.

Santa Clara University’s recently revived club bowling team spent the weekend of Oct. 25–26 competing at San José State University’s Student Union Bowling Center for the annual Tony Reyes Memorial Collegiate Classic, their first major outing of the season. Facing powerhouse programs from Fresno State, San José State, and UC Davis, the Broncos finished seventh overall with a total of 4,278 pins on Saturday and 4,867 on Sunday.

Aaditya Patel ’28 bowls during the first round of the second day of the The Tony Reyes Memorial Collegiate Classic. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Club president Austin Gregson ’26 placed 11th and 21st out of 73 on day one and two, respectively—scores that, after the first day, coach Ken Matsumoto ’25 said “exceeded expectations” for such a new squad.

“I’d say yesterday was pretty good. It actually exceeded my expectations by a bit,” Matsumoto said, standing behind the approach as his team lined up for another round. “There were some really good individual games in there. I’m hoping we can find that again and build on it today.”

Matsumoto, who graduated from the University last year, founded the club two years ago and now serves as its coach—a role he admits is more complicated than it looks. “It’s definitely a hard challenge keeping track of five different people and trying to help them figure out what they’re doing,” he said.

The Tony Reyes Memorial Collegiate Classic, a two-day collegiate tournament named for the late Bay Area bowling legend, tested teams across both standard team games and Baker-format matches, where bowlers take turns throwing alternate frames. It’s an event that demands precision, endurance and plenty of spare resilience.

Bowling equipment lined up at San José State University’s Bowling Center during the annual Tony Reyes Memorial Collegiate Classic. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Adrian Ho ’28, who rolled a 200 early Sunday, said the back-to-back format can wear players down. “Yesterday we were there from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.,” he said. “You’re standing around waiting most of the day, but when it’s your turn, there’s pressure—you don’t want to let your team down.”

For Ho, who averaged just below 200 over the weekend, staying consistent was the goal. “The oil pattern on each lane is different, so we just try to adjust,” he said. “Right now, I’d love to keep it above 200.”

The Broncos’ scores may not have knocked down the competition, but the team’s steady improvement is what Matsumoto values most. “We’re trailing Fullerton by about 50 pins,” he said between the first and second game on Sunday. “If we manage to beat them here, we’ll probably even out. Definitely more spares—that’s the hope.”

Consistency, he added, is tough to cultivate when the season starts just a few weeks into the fall quarter. “We never have much time to recruit or practice before tournaments start,” Matsumoto said. “Before Fresno, we’ll be running a lot more drills focused on spares.”

Alexis Moorfield ’28 high fives a bowler from San José State University after she narrowly hits the last pin to earn a spare. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

With the University’s on-campus lanes long gone, the team now practices at Fourth Street Bowl, a no-frills San Jose alley that’s more reminiscent of mid-century bowling culture than the overly gameified lanes of places like Bowlero.

Despite finishing last among the seven men’s varsity teams, the Broncos aren’t striking out on enthusiasm. “Bowling’s like golf, but without any of the returns,” Matsumoto said with a grin. “It’s a lot more complex than people think. If you really want to challenge yourself, it’s one of the hardest sports to master.”

For a program that once disappeared into history along with its basement lanes, Santa Clara University’s club bowling team is making a quiet but confident comeback—rolling, slowly but surely, toward the pocket.