Walking into Marvelanes & Lounge on Thursday nights, it’s not unusual to find an audience gathered to watch students casually shattering pins and adding scores close to 300 to the TV screens above.

Unbeknownst to many in the MSU community, the Spartan bowlers are known as an elite squad at the collegiate bowling level.

The group, which includes high school state champions from across the nation, practices twice each week at Marvelanes, 2120 Michigan Highway 78, and other bowling alleys in the area.

On the weekends, the bowlers compete against the top teams in the nation. This season, the team has made some impressive performances.

“Since we are only a club, we have no scholarships to give,” coach Karl Nickolai said. “So we have to compete against NCAA level teams that have more resources than our club does, and we compete very nicely with them.”

The male bowlers are ranked No. 8 by CollegeBowling.com’s online team ranking system, while the female team carries a No. 12 ranking.

At the Blue & Gold Classic in South Bend, Ind., on Jan. 26-27, the male bowlers took on a field of 31 teams. The team struggled with lane conditions, but had a solid finish of 11th overall. The women’s team also finished 11th, in a field of 20 teams.

Although the finish in the tournament was not what the team expected, it proved to show strong team unity, rebounding and bowling well.

“We had to avoid not getting many splits. Some did well, others didn‘t,” said team captain Demetris Crum, a human resource management and sociology senior. “We all had our moments when we bowled well, but Scott was the most consistent.”

General management senior Scott Brandow led the team for the second week in a row with a 205.2 average, finishing 13th overall.

“The lanes were real touchy, making a sensitive, difficult shot,” said Mike Keller, a packaging junior. “You had to pick up spares, and that is part of Scott’s ‘A’ game.”

General management freshman Jeff Butler also did well at tournament, finishing 41st. He is currently ranked No. 8 by CollegeBowling.com with his rookie average, 209.7, and No. 5 with a average differential of 19.3.

The average differential measures the performance of a player against the field average of a particular event.

Butler has led the nation‘s rookies most of the season.

“Jeff has a decent shot at winning rookie (of the year), with two more tournaments to go,” Crum said. “I also think he should be in the running for All-American.”

Butler is joined in the leader board by rookie Ryan Ross, a computer engineering freshman, who carries a 203.6 average.

Although the women’s team lacks depth with only six bowlers, it has placed well so far.

“I think the program is overshadowed,” mathematics freshman Nicole Puza said. “I came from New Jersey and I knew about it, but most students here just never hear about it.”

Puza is ranked No. 8 among rookies with her 195.1 average. She led the team at the Blue & Gold Classic, finishing eighth.

“I don‘t even think about it, I just try to come in the top 20,” Puza said. “I can’t really sit and worry about it, I just focus on my performance.”

The team is led by kinesiology junior Abbie Curtin, interdisciplinary studies in social sciences junior Kya Clark and communication senior Sheryl Prevett.

Both teams credit Nickolai, who volunteers his time while handing family and career responsibilities, for their successful performances.

Nickolai created and maintains CollegeBowling.com and is the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association president.

“Karl brings a lot of experience, being a former bowler at MSU,” Crum said. “He is inspirational - his efforts have promoted the sport nationwide.”

The team plans to focus on finishing the season strong and pushing toward sectionals, March 23-24. At sectionals, teams compete in Baker games, in which team members take turns bowling.

“The team dominates in Bakers, mostly because we come together well when we all bowl in the same game,” Crum said. “It has a lot to do with how we mush together as a team.”

Both teams hold tryouts in early September and welcome any interested students. For more information, visit www.msu.edu/~bowlclub/homepage.html.