Amber Griffin - Women's Bowling Coach

Amber Griffin

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
lemkeal@sfasu.edu
Phone:
936-468-5878

For the past 13 years, Amber Lemke has developed the Ladyjacks into one of the elite bowling programs in the nation as the head coach of the Stephen F. Austin bowling team. In her eighth year at the helm, Lemke has taken the Ladyjack bowling program to the height of national prominence.

During the 2015-16 season, Lemke guided SFA to the school's first Division I national title. She helped the Ladyjacks capture the 2016 NCAA National Championship as the Ladyjacks won their last six matches of the tournament, capped by a 4-3 win over reigning champion Nebraska in the nationally televised championship. It marked the second consecutive year SFA reached the NCAA title match as the Ladyjacks took home the 2015 NCAA runner-up trophy.

The 2021-22 season SFA won 62 matches and were the NCAA runner-up and won the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Championship.

The 2016-17 season saw SFA post its second-best win total in program history with the Ladyjacks claiming 86 match victories, including a program-best 39 Baker match wins. Highlighted by a second-place finish at Tulane's Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate in Kenner, Louisiana, SFA placed third at the 2017 Southland Bowling League Championship before making its third-straight NCAA tournament appearance. The Ladyjacks finished the season ranked seventh nationally according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) and reached the semifinals of the USBC (United States Bowling Congress) Intercollegiate Team Championships, their best finish at the national tournament since 2012. It marked the third top-four finish for SFA at a national tournament in the last three seasons.

For the third-straight year, Stephanie Schwartz was named NTCA First Team All-American while also picking up USBC All-American Second Team honors. She was a member of both Team USA and Junior Team USA and earned SFA's Dr. June Irwin Female Athlete of the Year award. Lemke also helped another Ladyjack earn All-American honors as Paige Kraushaar was named NTCA All-American honorable mention for the second time in her career.

SFA set a program record for victories in 2015-16, winning 88 matches for a .662 winning percentage, finishing the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by the NTCA. The Ladyjacks went a program-best 18-12 in bracket play on the season and posted top-10 finishes in all 11 tournaments on the year.

Under Lemke's guidance, Schwartz continued to establish herself as one of the top players in the country. Schwartz was named NTCA National Player of the Year and claimed All-American First Team honors for the second consecutive year, she was the 2016 USBC Female Amateur national champion and earned a spot on Team USA. As Schwartz was named to four all-tournament teams throughout the year, Kiara Grant was tabbed as NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, bowling a 224.4 average throughout the tournament and posting a program record 290 against McKendree.

The 2014-15 season proved to be one to remember for the Ladyjacks as SFA claimed 82 wins with just 39 losses to hold a program-best .678 winning percentage. It marked the fourth-straight season Lemke's Ladyjacks set a program record in both match wins and winning percentage. Ranked in the top five nationally all season, SFA earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA championships in Richmond Heights, Missouri, and made the most of its opportunity. Entering the tournament as the seventh overall seed, the Ladyjacks went 6-1 in pool play to earn the top seed in the double-elimination bracket. Wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and a pair over Lemke's alma mater of Wisconsin-Whitewater put SFA into the nationally televised championship bout where the Ladyjacks dropped a 4-2 decision to Nebraska, earning national runner-up honors and a No. 2 national ranking.

The success of the 2014-15 season brought some prestigious honors to Nacogdoches as Lemke was named NTCA Coach of the Year, while Schwartz was named NTCA Freshman of the Year as well as NTCA First Team All-American, the first All-American First Team selection in program history. Chelsea King and Kraushaar were also named NTCA honorable mention All-Americans. The honors were not limited to the bowling lanes, however, as SFA ranked third in the nation with a team GPA of 3.61, earning NTCA All-Scholar Team honors. King and Kraushaar both picked up NTCA All-Academic Third Team honors with five other bowlers being named honorable mention selections. Kraushaar was also a CoSIDA Captial One Academic All-District honoree.

In 2013-14, SFA continued to establish itself as one of the nation’s top teams as the Ladyjacks posted a 76-43 record for a winning mark of .639. The season boasted a pair of milestones for SFA with the Ladyjacks capturing their first team titles in program history, winning the Tulane Invitational and the FDU New Jersey Jamboree in back-to-back tournaments. SFA finished in the top eight of every tournament on the season, including a second-place showing at the USBC Sectionals in Fort Worth. Ranked in the top 10 nationally for the duration of the season, the Ladyjacks peaked as high as fifth in the NTCA rankings and finished ninth in the final poll of the season.

A number of Ladyjacks brought home individual honors at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season, highlighted by Nicole Parkhurst being named a NTCA Second Team All-American and Melanie Crawford garnering third-team honors. Parkhurst was also tabbed a NTCA All-Academic First Team selection, along with six other Ladyjacks earning honorable mention honors.

In her second season in Nacogdoches, Lemke guided SFA to a 66-39 (.629) record, improving the Ladyjacks' win total and winning percentage for the third-straight year. Ranked in the NTCA top 10 for the majority of the season, SFA finished the year ranked ninth in the final NTCA poll as the Ladyjacks recorded a top-10 team showing in six of its eight tournaments on the season. SFA showed its commitment in the classroom as the Ladyjacks earned NTCA All-Academic recognition with a team GPA of 3.46. Seven bowlers were named NTCA All-Academic honorable mention, highlighted by Amanda Boethel, who earned CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District honors for the first such recognition in program history.

In her first season leading the SFA bowling program, Lemke and the Ladyjacks made an impact on the national stage as SFA finished the year with a 62-48 record (.564) and ranked No. 10 nationally in the final NTCA poll. The Ladyjacks recorded a handful of signature victories over top-10 opponents, finishing in the top 10 in all eight tournaments of the season, including a third-place showing at the USBC championships in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Prior to SFA, Lemke was the head coach at her alma mater of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007-11, guiding the Warhawks to USBC collegiate championship appearances and first-round wins in both 2010 and 2011. During her tenure at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Lemke helped the Warhawks roll the top seven Baker games in program history. Lemke’s emphasis on academics was demonstrated by five members of her 2009-10 team earning NTCA All-Academic honors.

Amber Lemke (Griffin) was a freshman when Wisconsin-Whitewater added women’s bowling as a varsity intercollegiate sport prior to the 2002-03 school year. She helped get the program off and running and became a four-year letter winner. Lemke helped the Warhawks to claim the Wisconsin Collegiate Bowling Conference championships in 2003, 2004 and 2006 as she held a 177.7 average her senior year and claimed NTCA All-American honorable mention honors. Away from the Wisconsin-Whitewater team, Lemke attended the junior gold national championships three consecutive years from 2004-06. During the 2005-06 school year, Lemke served as an assistant coach for the USBC state champion Kenosha High School girl's bowling team.

Lemke graduated from Wisconsin-Whitewater cum laude in December of 2006 with a degree in middle childhood/early adolescence education with a coaching minor. She attained her master’s degree from Wisconsin-Whitewater in the spring of 2012.

Lemke has three children. Her two sons Ryder and Ayden, and her daughter Kinsley.

Lemke's Year-By-Year Results

Year	Overall	Pct.	Baker	Team	Bracket	Postseason
2011-12	62-48	.564	27-19	26-20	9-9	None
2012-13	66-39	.629	17-14	36-14	13-11	None
2013-14	76-43	.639	31-17	32-19	13-7	None
2014-15	82-39	.678	23-9	46-13	13-17	NCAA Runners-Up
2015-16	88-45	.662	33-10	37-23	18-12	NCAA Champion
2016-17	86-52	.623	39-11	37-21	10-20	NCAA First Round
2017-18	75-50	.600	31-19	27-21	17-10	None
2018-19	90-49	.647	36-23	40-16	14-10	NCAA Champion
TOTALS	625-365	.631	237-122	281-147	107-96	Four NCAA Appearances