ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Her parents met at North Park Lanes in Irondequoit, so is should not be a surprise that bowling has been a big part of Abigail Barnard's life for a long time.

Barnard started bowling in Sunday leagues at age 4, began taking the sport seriously in fifth grade and even helped save her high school's program after the global pandemic.

Now a junior at Roberts Wesleyan University, Barnard is a key member of the Redhawks women's bowling team.  

Barnard led the Redhawks in traditional average (179.6), strike percentage (36.8%) and spare percentage (64.8%) this season. She also averaged 19.56 pins per frame while finishing first overall and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the Redhawk Roc City Classic.

Barnard, who was named to the East Coast Conference Third-Team, also placed fifth out of 61 competitors at the Hilbert Hammer Classic while earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

Barnard, a junior Psychology major, carries a 3.83 GPA and has been named the Roberts Wesleyan University Female Scholar Athlete of the Month for March.

Barnard, who has a career-high game of 298, has also worked at Wegmans since the age of 15 and is in her third year of the store operations management internship program. She also enjoys reading and playing video games.

Barnard took a few moments to discuss life as a student-athlete at Roberts. Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What do you love most about bowling?
"I like how there's a team aspect to it, but also an individual aspect to it, too. You're very much in charge of your own performance, like in most sports, but it's very different from like a soccer or volleyball because at the end of the day, it is just based on you and what you can accomplish. Also, with the help of teammates, sometimes you can push yourself a little harder, and so it's been really cool to have both sides of the sport."

What's the most challenging part of bowling for you?
"I would say the mental game because I start to ruminate, especially if you have one bad shot and then it's like, 'well, the next one's not going to be any different,' but you've got to get out of that mindset. I get trapped in there a lot and then it takes me a little while to get back out of there sometimes, but I am definitely working on it."

How would you describe your bowling career at Eastridge High School?
"I had a great time, the program was awesome, but the program was also dying. When I was a freshman, it was hard to get onto the team because there were so many people, but literally the next year is when COVID happened and it dwindled down. We were still able to compete and all that because bowling isn't technically a contact sport, but then in my junior year, I remember, I got a group of my friends and we made these posters and stuff to try to get the team to resurrect itself. I have a group of all guy friends and I made them be the men's team and then I went and found girls to play and that was really cool. We even got new uniforms and stuff that year, too."

Your high game is a 298, tell me more about your final shot in the 10^th frame.
"It was a ridiculous pocket split for no reason. It was a 6-10 split."

Did you think you had a 300 when you released the ball?
"Oh yeah. I'm kind of glad that I didn't get it because I had just gone to practice for fun and I was throwing a ball that was my favorite at the time. I never really got to bowl with that ball in competition because we never quite get down to that level to need that ball. So, I was just throwing it for fun. Literally all the shots were perfect and then that last one left some nasty split, but the center I was at is famous for that."

What do you hope to do career-wise?
"I'm still trying to figure that out right now. I work at Wegmans and I'm pretty much full-time there, too. I'm trying to figure out if I want to stay with Wegmans or if I want to keep going to school. I'm looking into grad school so that I can do licensed clinical therapy. I'm interested in that, but, I am also interested in the Wegmans route, too."

What has been your favorite course and professor at Roberts so far?
"I think my favorite course is definitely Theories of Counseling that I'm taking right now with Dr. Jennifer Aube. She's really nice and she teaches very well. She's mainly used to teaching graduate students, and I think I like that approach because it feels a little bit more professional. A lot of the undergrad classes are tailored to like people coming fresh out of high school, and I'm going to be a senior, so I'm kind of checked out of there. I'm not quite in the new world yet, so she's awesome. My favorite professor is definitely Dr. Ashley Cooper. She's fantastic. I've had most of my courses with her, and she's just very down to earth, and is always positive and easy to talk to."

You live at home and commute to Roberts, what is that like?
"I love being a commuter, but it can be isolating at the same time. I just like sleeping in my own bed and being able to go home and hang out when I want to. I like being able to see my family. My family is really small, so I enjoy just being home for them to help with bringing my brother to and from work and stuff like that. I really like the flexibility that it offers."

What has it been like being on a college bowling team?
"I have absolutely loved being a part of this team. Everybody is super close, and that's the biggest thing that I was nervous about coming into it. … There's no putdowns, and there really is no drama, which is so interesting to me. We all get along and we like to hang out with each other outside of the required hours that we have to, so it's a great group. I love them."

What does being a Redhawk mean to you?
"I like having the ability to ask questions when needed, but also feel confident to make assumptions.  Being a student-athlete gives you like a little bit of confidence, especially when you have your team all following the same thing. You also hold yourself to a higher standard, because you know what you're representing something other than yourself."