February 24, 1997--Coming into this weekend's final California Intercollegiate Bowling Conference tournament in Santa Barbara, the Stanford Bowling Team was on a quest for respectability. Prior to the opening of play on Saturday, the Cardinal had only mustered 5 out of a possible 200 points. Five bowlers, freshmen Ward Bullard, Parker Hume, Jacob Mishook, Tak Nomura, and Peter Andrew Tenney, were determined to ameliorate Stanford's bowling reputation.

Upon arrival at Orchid Lanes in Goleta, California, the team had a feeling that they were due for a reversal of fortune.
"From the moment I saw the lanes, I knew this tournament would be big for us," said team captain Bullard. "The conditions were favorable to our style; you could see it in the oil."

In Saturday's opening match against no. 17 Sacramento State, the Cardinal stole 3 out of a possible 25 points, relying heavily upon the crafty bowling of Nomura and the sassy dancing of Mishook. "I expected them to roll over, in the face of our strong bowling," said Sacramento State sophomore Tim Hill, the top bowler in the CIBC. "The team was much improved and with their ridiculous antics, they really stole the show."

After making a run for the border for lunch, the Card, realizing their next victim would be the foul Golden Bear of Berkeley, knew they had to come up with a spectacular stunt. Donning its new Bullard hardhats, the team started its show. Although skeptical when the initial strains of the Village People's YMCA echoed through the alley, the rest of the conference, swept up by the Cardinal's flavor, could not stop from taking part.

"Their moves were infectious," said Cal State Fullerton junior and newly elected conference president Vayle Floria. "Hume was better than Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Bullard's riding of the traffic cone was pure genius. Judging from the reaction of Fresno State women's team, Stanford is a hot commodity."
Bolstered by the vociferous support of the Standing-Room-Only crowd all entirely behind the Cardinal, Stanford bludgeoned the hapless Bears, picking up all 15 points as Tenney mowed down the pins frame after frame.

On Sunday, Stanford was determined to prove that its flogging of Cal was 'no joke.' In its morning match at San Marcos Lanes in Santa Barbara, California, the team faced Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Aside from Bullard whose 3 points were the only resistance the team could offer, the rest of the players appeared to still be asleep. "I think the 9am start really messed up Stanford; they were unusually subdued," said Cal Poly SLO sophomore Paul Locke, Jr., the Mustangs anchor. "They never got it going and left a lot of easy pins."

After the embarrassing morning performance, the Cardinal had the fortune to be matched up against the Bears. Despite a strong desire for revenge, evidenced by their sour attitude, the bowling Bears were once again bombarded by the Cardinal's strikers. Stanford continued its dominance over Berkeley, sweeping the final 15 points of the year. The team was paced by leadoff bowler Nomura, whose 225 game was both a personal and season team high.
Coming into the final frame of the season, the team needed a clutch performance. Bullard's turkey in the final frame got Stanford started. Hume sent the fans home happy with a bird of his own in the season's final frame as the Cardinal set a season high team score.
"Earlier in the tournament, I'd felt I had let the team down by choking in some close matches," said Nomura. "In the past, others had to step up. Today was my turn."