Marlon Kelly picks up his bowling ball and positions himself on the lane. He takes his time as he releases the ball and hopes for a strike.

Kelly, a junior in computer engineering from Chicago, bowls at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in the mixed league bowling at the Student Center Bowling and Billiards.

Kelly is a member of the team Three Men and a Lady, which has just moved up into the No. 1 spot this week.

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He said the key to his team’s victory Tuesday night was helping each other out when one member was down.

We knew we could do it, Kelly said. It was just a matter of time before we put the pieces together to become No. 1.

Students who participate in the 13-week league pay a fee of $3.30 per week. Ten teams bowl in the league, with four people on each team.

The Student Center bowling leagues compete against each other, but not against other schools.

Karlton Gilton, a junior in cinema and photography from Chicago, likes bowling because it is competitive, and he does not have to overexert himself like in other sports.

It’s not like basketball where you constantly have to be physical and strain yourself, Gilton said. You can sit down and relax after you go up for your turn, which only takes a few seconds.

Pete Hardy, a sophomore in criminal justice from Chicago, said what fascinates him most about the game of bowling is the different styles people embody into their own styles of bowling.

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You will probably never find two bowlers with the same style, Hardy said. In other sports such as football, they use spin moves and stiff arms to get away from their defender, which is basically the same technique. But when you bowl, everyone has a different form.

Hardy said motivating his team to do well is important to him during competition and practice.

When you play against a lot of teams every week, you see different types of competition, Hardy said. If you don’t motivate your team week-by-week you’re bound to lose.

Unwinding from the pressures that academics bring upon is why some students, like Kelly, bowl.

Bowling is just a way for me to have fun, Kelly said. It’s a way for me to relax from all of the stress I have during the week from my studies.