Richard earns a spot on Junior Team USA

JONESBORO, Ark. (Arkansas State) — Arkansas State (A-State) women’s bowler Jordan Richard earned a spot on Junior Team USA recently after reaching the semifinals of the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships held July 11-17 across three different bowling centers in Dupage County, Ill.Richard, a sophomore who transferred to A-State over the summer, completed the first three qualifying rounds with a total of 2,795 pins (199.64 average) before bowling in two more advancer rounds to put her total at 4,818 pins to finish in fifth place and earn a spot in the double elimination match play bracket.A native of Tecumseh, Mich., Richard won her first three matches of bracket play by scores of 362-308, 429-408, and 391-373 to advance to the semifinals. However, she dropped two matches by scores of 423-379 and 411-332 to be eliminated, but her performance was good enough to warrant a selection to Junior Team USA. She becomes the fifth Red Wolves’ bowler in program history to make Junior Team USA joining Rachael Gittings, Sarah Lokker, Ashley Rucker, and Jadee Scott-Jones as the other players to earn the honor.“I’m glad to have another player from our program representing our country,” A-State head women’s bowling coach Justin Kostick said. “Jordan is a great player and works very hard. I’m very proud of her for making the team and she’s very deserving.”This honor just adds to the list for Richard, who was named the National Tenpin Coaches Association Division II/III Player of the Year for 2014-15 and second-team All-America while competing for Central Missouri. She will have three years of eligibility for A-State and is joining a Red Wolves’ program that has made eight straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.