Jeff Zidek was hired as the first-ever coach of the Saint Vincent Women's Bowing team in January of 2017, and has a career record of 325-102 (.761). After posting a 25-26 record in its inaugural season, the Bearcats joined the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and have posted a 300-76 overall record over the past seven years.
SVC won its first AMCC Championship and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024-25, with Zidek named Coach of the Year for the third time. SVC was ranked #6 in the nation in the preseason NTCA poll for Division II-III and also was ranked nationally for the first time in the NCBCA and IBMA polls. Four bowlers, Skyy Nicholls, Sabine Strickland, Mara Pilyih and Brooke Street, were named All-AMCC. Pilyih was named the NCAA's National D3 Rookie of the Year by the National Tenpin Coaches Association.
During the 2023-24 season, Saint Vincent achieved its highest-ever ranking in the NCAA Division II-III poll, reaching #9. The team also reached #25 in the NCAA All-Divisions poll, one of only two Division III programs to be nationally ranked. SVC finished the season with an 18-2 conference record and won the regular season championship, with a record six bowlers earning All-Conference honors.
The 2022-23 Bearcats won the AMCC regular season championship with a 19-1 conference record, while the team finished the year with the highest winning percentage in the NCAA (.850) after going 51-9. SVC once again finished as the conference runners-up, falling in the final match at the tournament championship. For the second straight year, four Bearcats were honored by the AMCC, two on the First Team (Monique & Jackie Koehler) and two Second Team selections (Olivia Emmonds, Abby Justice). Justice was named AMCC Newcomer of the Year.
In 2022, Zidek led the Bearcats to a 33-10 overall record, including a 14-2 record in the AMCC and a trip to the AMCC Tournament Championship game. The Bearcats lost 2-1 in a best of three Championship Series against Medaille. Zidek guided four Bearcats to All-AMCC honors ... Monique Koehler and Jackie Koehler were named First Team All-AMCC, while senior Jessica Guesman and Olivia Emmonds earned Second Team All-AMCC honors.
In 2019-20, the Bearcats led the nation in winning percentage (.877), posting a 50-7 overall record. The team went 16-2 in the AMCC, tied for first overall, and Zidek was named co-Coach of the Year by the conference.
In 2018-19, the Bearcats joined the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, posting a conference record of 11-3 in the regular season and finishing third in the AMCC Championships. Overall, the team posted a 39-14 record, the second highest win percentage of any team in the NCAA. Zidek guided the Bearcats to a 25-26 record during their inaugural season in 2017-18, playing an independent schedule.
Zidek brings several decades of bowling experience to the program. He has won multiple individual and doubles tournaments in Western Pennsylvania and has thrown multiple perfect games in his career. He continues to bowl weekly in area leagues and tournaments, and has consistently averaged 215 over the past 15 years.
He first joined the staff at Saint Vincent in 1995, working in the communication department, and moved to the athletic department as Sports Information Director in 2003, serving in that role until 2019. He currently works full-time as the track announcer at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, PA.
He is a member of the United States Bowling Congress, and is a certified Bronze Level coach.
A native of North Apollo, PA, he has two children: Ryan, a 2017 Saint Vincent graduate, and Sara, a 2020 graduate of the College of Wooster. Jeff and his wife, Jackie, reside in Greensburg.
