KANSAS CITY, Mo. – North Carolina A&T went 1-1 on the first day of the NCAA Bowling Championship Tournament Wednesday at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes.
Only one of the top-four seeds made it through without losing. The Aggies (56-9), the third seed in the national tournament, had to battle in the first Mega Match against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion Prairie View A&M before beating the Panthers to advance to play Arkansas State later in the day on Wednesday.
"It was close, closer than we hoped for," head coach Kim Terrell-Kearney said on the Prairie View A&M win. "We haven't seen Prairie View, but I know the talent they have, so we knew that we had a battle ahead, and it showed. I'm super proud of the kids. They never gave up and fought until the very end."
The Panthers won the traditional match 1,003-866. PVAMU then led by 72 pins, 642-570, after the first three baker matches. But N.C. A&T outscored the Panthers by 99 pins in the final two baker matches to win 1,030-1,003. A&T's win forced a best-of-seven Bakers series.
PVAMU won the first match, but the Aggies battled back by winning the next two matches to take a 2-1 lead. The Panthers won the fourth match to tie it at 2. But N.C. A&T won the final two matches to win the series 4-2 and the Mega Match 2-1.
"They were very competitive, and they bowled very well," senior Cameron Strombeck said. "We have to be sure not to take anyone lightly. Our team has a lot of parts, so we never count ourselves out, and we always show a lot of fight."
Sophomore Lauren Tomaszewski led the Aggies with a 191, followed by Strombeck, the MEAC bowler of the year, with a 186. Freshman Melanie Katen gave the Aggies a boost by bowling three strikes in the 10th frame.
A&T defeated Arkansas State 1,061-874 in traditional play. The Red Wolves won the baker matches 974-857 to force a best-of-seven.
ASU won the first game 245-205, but the Aggies won the next three matches to take a 3-1 lead. However, ASU won the final three matches to win the best-of-seven series and to win the Mega Match 2-1, snapping A&T's 11-match winning streak on the season.
Against the Red Wolves in traditional play, Quesada led the Aggies with a 244 as she started with three consecutive strikes. She also had another streak of four strikes. Katen bowled six consecutive strikes to score a 227. Olaya had four straight strikes at one point during the match to bowl a 206. Tomaszewski came with a 196, including striking out the 10th frame. Strombeck's 188 rounded out the scoring.
Second-seeded Nebraska fell to Medaille 2-1 in the first round but bounced back with a 2-1 win over Mount St. Mary's. The No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech fell to Youngstown State 2-0 and lost to Sam Houston State 2-1 despite shooting a perfect 300.
The Aggies face Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival Delaware State at 10 a.m., Thursday. The winner moves on to face Arkansas State in the Region 3 bracket championship at 4 p.m.
