DEPTFORD, NJ – Give North Carolina A&T bowling a bit more time to find its rhythm, and the North Carolina A&T that blazed through competition to the tune of three straight tournament wins to close out the calendar year of 2022.
After two months from collegiate competition, A&T, the No. 2 team in the nation according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA), went 1-4 on Friday at Sacred Heart's SHU Northeast Classic at Bowlero.
The second-ranked Aggies are in seventh place after the 34 teams assembled played Baker format during the first day. A&T totaled 4,978 pins for an average of 199.1 to finish behind third-ranked Vanderbilt (5,333), top-ranked McKendree (5,142), seventh-ranked Youngstown State (5,099), fifth-ranked Stephen F. Austin (5,081), fourth-ranked Nebraska (5,031) and sixth-ranked Arkansas State (5,018).
A&T's lone win on the day came against the 17th-ranked Tulane Green Wave during A&T's final Baker match of the day. The lineup of junior Melanie Katen, junior Jada Bassette, graduate Katie Robb, sophomore Chloe Newberry and senior Lauren Tomaszewski defeated the Green Wave 1,064-999.
The win was a good sign for the remainder of the tournament as the Aggies had their best two games of the day during the match, bowling a 258 in Game 1 and a 247 in Game 2.
"Definitely, we are disappointed as to how the day went in terms of wins and losses," said A&T head coach Kim Terrell-Kearney. "We didn't make the shots when needed to secure the wins. That's pretty uncharacteristic of this group. But we are still in the running to win the tournament. We will play better tomorrow."
Teams will play in traditional format on Saturday before best-of-seven bracket play on Sunday.
The Aggies started the day with a 1,001-982 loss to No. 20 Central Missouri using the lineup of Katen, junior Laura Garcia, Rob, Newberry and Tomaszewski. That same lineup also lost to Arkansas State, 1,034-970. Sophomore Maya Avilez also made an appearance in the match.
Eleventh-ranked Maryville defeated A&T 1,026-983 next as Avilez replaced Garcia in the lineup. With that same lineup, SFA came away with a 1,003-980 win before A&T's victory over Tulane. A&T is now 41-10 on the season.
