Bowler Cheung Named Academic All-American

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett

Eric Cheung bowled a strike. Not just one on the lane, but also in the classroom.

The sophomore Marketing major was named to the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association 2007-08 Academic All-American team. For Cheung, it was a nice surprise.

“It was kind of surprising because I didn’t know there was such a category,” said the McLean, Va. resident. “To be recognized for being academic and an athlete at the same time feels nice.”

Cheung boasts a 3.74 cumulative GPA and has been named to the Dean’s List each semester he has been enrolled at Mason. With bowling in its third year and most competitive year, one would think that Cheung’s grades would take a dip from where they currently stand.

“Bowling is not as time consuming as possibly other sports, like football and lacrosse are,” he said. “I get around pretty nicely just practicing once or twice a week and doing my studies as well.”

The practices are weekly, every Sunday starting at 6:30 p.m. at Bowl America Bull Run Manassas. Cheung first heard the word about Mason’s team at the public bowling alley.

“Actually, I didn’t even know we had a club team at Mason. I met [co-captain Steve Pongrace] at a bowling alley, we were bowling in a league together and I saw he wore a lot of George Mason clothing,” said Cheung. “I asked him about it and he was like, ‘Yeah, I’m on the George Mason bowling team. You should come check it out and play with us.’ So that’s how I got started.”

Cheung started playing with the team this past fall and the bowler who has played competitively since he was 16 has not looked back. He now has three bowling balls: Storm Secret Agent, Storm X-Factor and Colombia White Dot. The three make him unique, but what makes him stand out more is the signature gator chop he does whenever he lines up to bowl and has a feeling he will get a strike.