HANRAHAN, La. – North Carolina A&T began the bowling season with a fourth-place finish at the Colonial Classic hosted by Tulane University Sunday at Colonial Lanes.
A&T, ranked seventh in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll, entered Sunday's bracket play as the No. 1 seed after going 4-0 in Baker format on Friday and 5-0 in traditional play on Saturday. But the Aggies were handed their first defeat of the season when 14th-ranked and fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) school Maryland Eastern Shore beat the Aggies 4-2 in a best-of-seven Baker matchup.
The two MEAC rivals split the first two games, with A&T winning Game 1, 163-55, and UMES taking Game 2, 205-163. UMES took the series lead with a 171-69 win before the Aggies tied the series with a 188-171 victory. But the Hawks closed out A&T with Game 5 (202-198) and Game 6 (214-190) wins to advance to the finals.
Meanwhile, A&T faced No. 8 Louisiana Tech, with the winner advancing to the finals against UMES. La Tech, who eliminated the Aggies from the NCAA tournament in 2021, defeated the Aggies 4-1 in the best-of-seven. The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with a 216-192 victory and a 222-189 win.
The Aggies bounced back in the third game with a 196-182 win, but La Tech squeaked out a 172-168 win in Game 4. The Bulldogs won the final game 242-210 to advance to face UMES in the championship.
The loss put the Aggies in a matchup with fourth-ranked Stephen F. Austin (SFA). SFA handed the Aggies their third straight loss on the day with a 4.5-3.5 win. The two top-10 teams split the first two games, with A&T winning first, 203-185, followed by a 201-186 SFA win.
The Ladyjacks won the next two games, 226-220 and 222-207, to take a 3-1 lead before the Aggies stayed alive with a 186-167 win. The teams tied Game 5 at 204 as a half point went to each team. The Aggies then forced a tiebreaker game by winning Game 7, 233-204. But the Ladyjacks won the tiebreaker, 105-84.
The Aggies travel to Houston, Texas, to participate in the Sam Houston Kat Flash tournament, Nov. 4-6.
