April 25, 2011
New Orleans - Tulane University Director of Athletics Rick Dickson announced today the hiring of Hayley Beavis as the first head women's bowling coach for the Green Wave. Tulane's women's bowling program will begin its inaugural season during the 2011-12 campaign.
"We're very pleased with the addition of Hayley to our Tulane coaching staff," Dickson said. "She brings great enthusiasm and passion, along with a lifelong dedication to the fast growing sport of women's collegiate bowling. I can't wait for the New Orleans and Tulane communities to meet this delightful young woman."
Beavis, 26, brings five combined years of bowling experience either as a student-athlete and graduate assistant coach to the Green Wave. She comes to Tulane after spending the last two seasons at Webber International University where she completed her student-athlete eligibility in 2009-10 and served as a graduate assistant coach for the program during the 2010-11 season.
During her first final campaign as a student-athlete and her first season at Webber International in 2009-10, she led the Warriors to a United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championship. She earned MVP honors and was named to the USBC national championship all-tournament team.
This past season as a graduate assistant coach, she helped coach the WIU women's "B" team and recently received her master's degree in sports and business management from Webber International in 2011.
Beavis, who hails from Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, England, began her collegiate bowling career at Martin Methodist College, where she was a three-year letterwinner for the Red Hawks from 2006-09. She was the national runner-up in collegiate singles in 2009 and owned the highest bowling average in the nation during the 2007-08 campaign. She received first team All-America honors by the United States Bowling Congress in 2007-08 and was an honorable mention selection in 2006-07 and 2008-09.
In the classroom, she was a member of both the president's and dean's lists, the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society for Business and received Academic All-America honors from the National Collegiate Bowlers Association. Beavis received her bachelor's degrees in sports management and business management from Martin Methodist in 2009.
"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be the first head women's bowling coach at Tulane University and cannot wait to start building the program. I am very grateful to Rick Dickson for the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious institution. I look forwarded to providing Tulane and the city of New Orleans with a great collegiate bowling experience.
"I have been involved with two first-year programs at different schools as a student-athlete and I learned first-hand how to build a program in terms of coaching. I believe this experience, together with the in depth knowledge of seven years associated with the Kegel Training Center, will serve me well in building a championship caliber team for the Green Wave bowling program."
Beavis, who holds a USBC Bronze and Level 1 Coaching Certificate, has served on both the youth and adult national teams in England, where she represented her country in Scotland and at the European Youth Championships in Rome, Italy, in 2002. She also holds a UK Level 2 Instructors qualification.
The Green Wave bowling team will compete at New Orleans' world famous Rock `n' Bowl (3000 S. Carrollton Ave.).
"The Rock 'n' Bowl and Ye Olde College Inn are extremely excited about being involved with the Tulane bowling program," said John Blancher, Owner-Proprietor of Rock'n'Bowl. "Our businesses have long been intertwined with Green Wave athletics. We couldn't be more pleased that the Home of Rock'n'Bowl is now the Home of Tulane Bowling. I predict we will lead the nation in collegiate bowling attendance the very first year."
"Rock `n' Bowl is definitely a unique college venue and I am looking forward to working with the Mr. Blancher and his great staff. I deeply appreciate their willingness to work with our program. It is a great facility that is close to campus and it is my hope to build a tradition that includes the Tulane student body and the entire university family. I am grateful to have Rock `n' Bowl as the home of the Green Wave bowling program," Beavis said.
Women's bowling is considered a winter sport and there are currently 33 Division I schools that sponsor women's bowling, including in-state schools Louisiana Tech, Southern and Grambling State. Other notable schools include Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Arkansas State. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore recently downed Vanderbilt to capture the 2011 National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship.
