EAST GREENSBORO – "We want to win a national championship! 100 percent! We're all in. We want to win it!"
There, she said it. Kim Terrell-Kearney, a member of eight different Halls of Fame, professional bowling legend, winner of three bowling majors as a pro, collegiate superstar, coaching legend, former national coach year, three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) coach of the year, and the current head bowling coach of the North Carolina A&T Aggies, said IT!
The North Carolina A&T bowling team starts the 2022-23 season Friday, Oct. 14, at the Tulane U. Colonial Classic in New Orleans. The tournament will conclude on Sunday. The Aggies enter the season having won three of the last four MEAC titles and advancing to the NCAA tournament each of those seasons.
But they have never won it. Terrell-Kearney and the Aggies had an impressive run in 2021, advancing to the Region 3 NCAA final before losing to Arkansas State. That run catapulted A&T to national runner-up status at the Intercollegiate Team Championships hosted by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).
But last season, the Aggies went 1-2 at the NCAA Bowling Championship Tournament in Arlington, Texas, leaving Terrell-Kearney and her husband Eric Kearney, who is also her assistant coach, pondering. What are we missing that past NCAA bowling champions had?
Well, it certainly isn't talent. The Aggies have two of nation's top bowlers in the country residing in AggieLand in, senior Lauren Tomaszewski and junior Melanie Katen. Tomaszewski became the program's first-ever National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) first-team All-American last season; coming into this season; she is the MEAC preseason bowler of the year. Meanwhile, Katen was the 2022 MEAC bowler of the year and a third-team NTCA All-American a year ago.
Mix those two outstanding talents with junior Laura Garcia and sophomore Chloe Newberry, who were both sensational during last season's MEAC tournament win, and it is easily understandable why the Aggies come into this season as the seventh-ranked team in the preseason NTCA poll. Not to mention the Aggies have a solid veteran presence in graduates Cristina Acosta and Katie Robb and Lincoln Memorial University transfer Jada Bassette.
Sophomores Maya Avilez and Grace Still will be more prominent fixtures in the Aggies lineup this season, and the Kearneys are anticipating great things from freshman Juliana Sams. So therefore, if it is not talent, what is it?
"They have experience playing for national championships," said Terrell-Kearney. "When they walk into the building, everyone knows they're there to win it all. I would say before this year; we were still in the space of being excited to get there. I don't think any of us were ever saying we we are going to win this. That's the shift that we have to make. When we walk into the bowling center, we have to believe we can be national champions. We can't be content with lasting for a few days."
The Aggies will compete against the NCAA field like they usually do throughout the season. A&T routinely competes in tournaments that feature teams ranked in the NTCA top-25. At times, those tournaments feature at least five top-15 teams. But there is this one little reminder Terrell-Kearney has for everyone.
"The NCAA field is tough," she said. "We felt we were playing at our best last year when we won the MEAC. So, it wasn't that we were not prepared when we went to the NCAAs last year. We just got beat. It showed us there is more work to do."
The Aggies did lose two good workers in All-American Ericka Quesada and Pamela Warr. There are plenty of good workers still left, however. Tomaszewski should serve as the Aggies anchor bowler in the lineup, which puts her in the position of being the closer. She ranked eighth in the nation in strike percentage (54.5) during the 2021-22 campaign. In addition, she had a 74.8 spare percentage. Her 266 in the Prairie View A&M Invitational was tied for the seventh-highest single-game total in the MEAC last season. She was third nationally in the NTCA's Player Composite Performance Index (PCPI). Tomaszewski was also third nationally in traditional scoring (21.3 per frame) and fourth in total scoring average (21.2 per frame).
"Lauren is never afraid of the moment," Terrell-Kearney said. "Nothing scares her. That's the athlete you have to have as your anchor. She does not believe anyone can beat her one-on-one. You can see a positive change in her when the pressure is on. That's hard to find."
Katen is the leadoff person for A&T. She is responsible for getting the Aggies off to a fast start and into a rhythm. She had a 50.8 strike percentage and a 77.9 spare percentage. She ranked 11th nationally in the NTCA's PCPI. She ranked 14th in total scoring (20.86) and third in frame fill percentage (89.1). She had 27 games last season where she knocked down more than 200 pins.
"Mel is amazing at the top of our lineup," Terrell-Kearney said. "She brings so much energy and is awesome at reading the lane. If we lost Mel, she would be hard to replace."
According to her head coach, Garcia, who Terrell-Kearney called a phenom as a young player in Columbia, is starting to have her confidence match her abilities. She posted a 195.1 average last season. Meanwhile, Terrell-Kearney called Newberry a gift.
"What's scary about Chole is she is really good right now, but she is still finding her footing as a collegiate bowler. Once she figures it out. Wow."
With a solid nucleus returning, mixed with veteran bowlers, and a freshman in Sams that Terrell-Kearney called a steal, the Aggies have the makings of a national championship team. Now they just have to say it and mean it.
"You have to be brave enough to say it and then be willing to live with the fact that you said it and all that comes along with saying it," Terrell-Kearney said. "I'm okay with all of it."
