HOUSTON – The fourth-ranked North Carolina A&T bowling team beat two ranked teams in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) on its way to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 Track Kat Klash hosted by Sam Houston State University (SHSU) at Emerald Bowl on Sunday.
The Aggies finished the tournament with an 8-5 record after totaling 13,460 pins in 66 games for an average of 203.9. Tenth-ranked Louisiana Tech won the tournament, followed by eighth-ranked SHSU and ninth-ranked Maryville University. The Aggies are 19-7 (.731) on the season, with their first MEAC Meet on the horizon. It will be hosted by Coppin State University, Nov. 11-12, at AMF Woodlawn Lanes in Gwynn Oak, Md.
On Sunday, the Aggies entered the Sunday bracket phase of the Kat Klash as the No. 5 seed. In the best-of-seven Baker format, the Aggies had to face the No. 6 seed in the Newman University Jets, the 13th-ranked team in the nation. The Aggies took the first game before the Jets evened the series at 1 with a 235-219 win over A&T.
A&T took command of the series by winning Games 3 and 4 by a combined 436-392 to take a 3-1 lead. The Jets stayed afloat with a 264-228 win in Game 5 before the Aggies ended things by winning 236-188 to win the series 4-2. The Aggies had a total pinfall of 1,350 compared to the Jets' 1,229. A&T advanced to face the third-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers and put together perhaps its best showing of the tournament.
The Aggies split the first two games with the Cornhuskers before narrowly winning Game 3, 202-201. The Aggies then looked dominant in Game 4 with a 268-213 win before taking the series 4-1 with a 204-154 Game 5 win. The Aggies had a total pinfall of 1,098 to Nebraska's 994. The Aggies outdueled the Cornhuskers 472-367 over the final two games to win.
The two wins put the Aggies in position to play for third place against the Maryville University Saints. But the Saints took a convincing 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series before A&T recovered to win Game 4, 190-183. Maryville took the third-place position with a 199-194 Game 5 win. A&T's total pinfall in the series was 949 compared to the Saints' 1,017.
