Duquesne bowler Olivia Farwell makes history as Dukes' 1st national player of the year

In its long history of athletics, Duquesne never could boast of a national player of the year — until Olivia Farwell enrolled and picked up a bowling bowl.

Farwell, a graduate student from Elizabethtown, was named National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year this season after posting a nation’s-best .975 Player Composite Performance Index. The PCPI is determined by the percentage of competitors a bowler has outperformed in several categories.

Named Northeast Conference Bowler of the Year last month, Farwell led the nation with a 21.45 overall average per frame. She also converted 90.7% of makable spares, first in the nation.

Farwell, a first-team All-American, was one of two Duquesne bowlers recognized by the NTCA. She was named first-team all-region while teammate Kiearra Saldi was an honorable mention choice. Farwell was an honorable mention All-American in 2017-18 and a second-team selection in 2018-19 and 2019-20. She missed 2020-21 with an injury before returning this season.

“I couldn’t be happier for Liv, knowing everything she went through last season,” Duquesne coach Jody Fetterhoff said in a statement. “My only hope for her in her final year was that she stayed healthy. Her first four years here, she was always dealing with something and yet she still managed to be one of the top bowlers in the country.”

Farwell joins Korie Hlede (four-time honorable mention in women’s basketball from 1995-98) as the only other four-time All-Americans in Duquesne history. The only other three-time All-Americans are Dick Ricketts (men’s basketball, 1953-55), Sihugo Green (men’s basketball, 1954-56) and Christian Kuntz (football, 2013, 2015-16).