HOUSTON, TEXAS – North Carolina A&T defeated the No. 1 collegiate bowling team in the nation in a sweep on Sunday to win Sam Houston State University's (SHSU) Kat Klash at Emerald Bowl. 

The Aggies got a second chance at the top-ranked McKendree Bearcats after battling their way through bracket play after losing to the Bearcats earlier in the day. 

A&T (20-5), ranked seventh in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll, started their biggest triumph of the young season with a close 226-225 win in Game 1 of the final. The Aggies got better from there, defeating the Bearcats 225-214. They won Game 3, 276-223, before closing out McKendree 269-245. 

It did not go well for the Aggies earlier in the day against McKendree. The Aggies entered bracket play as the No. 2 seed against the Bearcats. McKendree defeated the Aggies 4-2 in best-of-seven Baker games.  

After fighting McKendree to a 2-2 tie, McKendree won the final two games, 235-177 and 232-223, to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, A&T dropped to face No. 5 SHSU, who defeated No. 15 Maryville 4-1 in the first round.

The Aggies defeated SHSU 209-180 in the first game, but SHSU won the second game 196-171 to tie the best-of-seven series. A&T squeaked out a 203-201 victory in the third game before the Bearkats took Game 4, 263-179. The Aggies fought back to win the final two games, 194-187 and 202-195, to set up the championship match with McKendree. 

A&T continues to improve. In their first tournament of the season, the Aggies entered Sunday as the No. 1 seed before losing all three matches in bracket play to finish fourth. However, that was not the case this time. 

The Aggies travel to Millsboro, Del., for the next two weekends starting with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Meet #1 from Nov. 11-12 at Millsboro Lanes.