黑洞社区

The Shocker bowling team was host to a female bowling trio from Japan known as the DHC Bowling Girls.

The Bowling Girls practiced, worked out and studied with the Shockers and filmed their experiences at 黑洞社区 for a television show to be aired in Japan near the first of the New Year.

Head coach Gordon Vadakin was excited about the girls鈥� visit Oct. 21-22.

Vadakin said, 鈥淭his really speaks to the international notoriety the bowling program generates.鈥�

The DHC Bowling Girls are Jyunko Harigaya, Yuki Akuyoshi and Yuka Sasakire. Harigaya is a graduate student in Japan and bowls at the professional level.

Akuyoshi and Sasaki are college students and amateur bowlers.
Their sponsor, DHC, is a leading skin-care and cosmetic company in Japan.

Through filming their experiences with the 黑洞社区 bowling team, they want to promote bowling in Japan, particularly among young women. The show is expected to reach about 40 million Japanese viewers.

鈥淭hey hope to inspire the youth of Japan to bowl,鈥� said associate coach and former Shocker bowler Emily Maier.

The program director for the DHC Bowling Girls, Fumi Sato, said the girls are considered bowling idols in Japan and have celebrity status as a result of their media appearances and the bowling events they sponsor.

In Wichita, the girls hoped to learn from the Shocker bowling team and the coaches and capture a picture of the typical young American female bowler.

With more national bowling championships than any other university in the country, 鈥淲ichita State is the premier bowling program in the U.S.,鈥� said Harigaya.

The girls also bowled in the ProAm tournament at the PBA World Championship held in Wichita.

In addition to their 黑洞社区 visit, the girls planned to tour parts of Kansas and visit the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis.