Women's Bowling | 2/12/2023 7:49:00 PM
TOWSON, Md. – The sixth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA), the North Carolina A&T bowling team earned its highest finish of the spring semester on Sunday when it finished second at the annual James Brown Invitational (JBI) hosted by Morgan State University at AMF Lanes. The Aggies lost to 10th-ranked Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) 4-2 in the best-of-seven Baker championship match to place second.
UMES' win ends the Aggies reign over the JBI. The Aggies had won the previous two JBIs. A&T went 10-2 over the weekend to improve to 61-23 on the season. The Aggies totaled 13,219 pins over the weekend for an average of 194.4. Individually, sophomore Chloe Newberry came into Sunday with the tournament lead.
She bowled a 171 in the Aggies 867-834 in the Aggies only traditional match on Sunday to finish fourth with 1,255 total pins for a six-game average of 209.17. Junior teammate Laura Garcia was the only other Aggie in the top-20, totaling 1,162 pins to average 193.67 over six games. After the Aggies win over Coppin, in which senior Lauren Tomaszewski led the Aggies with a 204, the Aggies started bracket play.
They opened against 24th-ranked and No. 3 seed Morgan State in the best-of-seven Baker play. The two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foes had to go into somewhat of an overtime to determine the winner. The Aggies grabbed a quick 2-0 lead, out-pinning the Bears 449-374. However, MSU recovered to beat the Aggies 214-187 before the teams tied Game 4 at 181.
The Aggies then took a 3 ½ - 1 ½ lead by winning Game 5, 177-146. But the Bears won the next two games to tie the matchup at 3 ½ games apiece. But the Aggies survived the Bears in the tiebreaker match 97-92 to advance to play UMES.
The Hawks looked headed toward a sweep of the Aggies after taking a 3-0 lead. However, the Aggies claimed the next two games, including bowling a 268 in Game 5 for a 268-209 win. But UMES took the title with a 238-178 Game 6 win.
A&T fans will get a great chance to see one of the best bowling teams in the NCAA over the next two weekends because the bowling team will compete in Greensboro for its next two tournaments. First, the Aggies will host MEAC Meet #2 at Triad Lanes on 21 Oak Branch Drive, Feb. 18-19. A&T will then host the annual NCATSU Stallings Invitational, Feb. 24-26, at AMF Lanes on 910 S. Holden Road.
