With one of the largest Division I athletic programs that spans campuses in Brooklyn and Long Island, some teams receive more attention than others. That said, the women of Long Island University’s (LIU) bowling team are working hard to achieve recognition this collegiate season.
“I love being part of a team,” said Megan-Amani Ransom, a junior business administration major in her third year on the bowling team. “I have a love for the sport. … People take bowling as just a game, but it’s a real sport. Our wrists, our knees, and my hips are hurting. This is an actual sport just as hard as any other sport because it’s technique and you have to work on your technique.”
Bowling is based at LIU’s Long Island campus, which suits Ransom, who is from Baldwin, New York. She first became acquainted with the university when she was invited to be part of its summer honors program while in high school. “I loved the two classes that I took and I loved the campus,” she said.
With an eye to the future, Ransom is trying to find an internship that she can balance with bowling. She is also focused on “putting my all out on the lanes,” she said. “I’m ready to show people who I am and how I bowl.”
New Jersey native and sophomore Kumani Wiltshire began bowling her freshman year of high school because her technology teacher was also the bowling coach and encouraged her to join the team. Six years later, she’s happy she did it.
“I’m a really competitive person, but I like how being a student-athlete gives me an escape,” she said. “When I’m kind of getting frustrated or tired of school, I always have my team and my sport to fall back on in case I need a distraction. … At a tournament, we all have to showcase our skills.”
A film major, Wiltshire appreciates LIU’s strong film program and relative closeness to home. She hopes to get opportunities to work on television or film sets in the New York area to gain experience and build her resume. While she likes all films, her favorites tend to be slice of life stories. “If given a chance, I’d do a film about bowling,” she said.
LIU bowling is next in action on Saturday at Bowl for the Cure tournament in East Haven, CT.