RUSTY THOMSEN, FRANK PARISI RETURN TO LEAD NJCU BOWLING PROGRAM

For 11 seasons from 2002 to 2013, Frank Parisi and Rusty Thomsen formed one of the most illustrious coaching combinations in the history of NCAA women's bowling, leading the Division III New Jersey City University program to seven consecutive NCAA Bowling National Collegiate championships and four Final Fours, including a game shy of the 2008 national championship final. But after a six-year hiatus, Parisi and Thomsen will return for the 2019-20 season...with a twist.
 
Thomsen, who served as the assistant coach of the program for 11 years and whose teachings helped 15 different women become All-Americans a combined 23 times including four National Players of the Year, is returning to NJCU, this time as the program's head coach.
 
Meanwhile, Parisi, the former chair of the NCAA National Collegiate Women's Bowling Committee who founded the program in 2000 and served as head coach for its first 13 seasons before retiring as the second winningest coach in NCAA history with 758 victories, is returning in a new capacity—as the program's associate head coach and lead recruiter.
  
Parisi, with Thomsen by his side, was a four-time National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) National Coach of the Year, winning NTCA Division II/III National Coach of the Year in 2005-06 and NTCA Division III National Coach of the Year in three consecutive years during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. The tandem left NJCU after the 2012-13 season with at the time the second most victories in recorded NCAA history—a mark of 758-371.
 
Together, NJCU won 60 or more matches in 10 consecutive seasons and 80 or more matches twice including 89 wins in the 2007-08 campaign. During their tenure, NJCU was a mainstay in the NTCA Division I, II and III Top 20 poll, reaching as high as No. 2 in the country in 2004-05 and received the first No. 1 vote in a national poll in any sport for the Gothic Knights in 2007.
 
NJCU qualified for the first seven consecutive NCAA Championships from 2004-10, reaching the Final Four in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010; the Gothic Knights finished third in the country in 2004 and 2008 and fourth in 2006 and 2010. During the 2010 season, NJCU served as the host for the NCAA tournament event in North Brunswick, N.J., becoming the first institution to host the championship.
 
"I'm back for round two to get us back on top where we belong again," said Thomsen. "There's going to be a bit of rebuilding. Once we get our feet under us, we are going to hit the ground running. We will be back. We're going to get back to where we were and hopefully we can get to the ultimate level this time."