GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T, the sixth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll, closed out its annual NCATSU Vernelle Stallings Invitational on Sunday at AMF All-Star Lanes with a fourth-place finish. The Aggies entered the day as the No. 2 seed in the best-of-seven bracket play in Baker match format.
Before bracket play started, the Aggies played an additional traditional game against ninth-ranked Sam Houston State University (SHSU). The Bearkats defeated A&T 933-875 to drop the Aggies to 5-1 in traditional play for the tournament. It was the Aggies lowest pinfall of traditional play as junior Melanie Katen led the way with a 184. Bea Hernandez put it in a 213 to lead the Bearkats.
The Aggies then faced the Bearkats again to open bracket play as SHSU entered as the No. 3 seed. SHSU swept the Aggies 4-0 to advance to the championship round against second-ranked Vanderbilt. Next, the Aggies had to face Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival and 10th-ranked University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) for third place. The Aggies lost 3.5-0.5 after tying the Hawks in the third game, 185-185.
Fourth place is A&T's lowest finish in the four-year history of the Stallings Invitational after they won the first two and finished second last season to Vanderbilt. The Aggies closed the tournament with a 9-4 record after going 4-3 in Baker format games. The Commodores won the tournament for the second straight season, and SHSU finished second.
Vandy's Mabel Cummings won the individual crown with a 1,252 total pinfall, an average of 208.67 over six games. Katen followed up her first-place finish from last week's MEAC Meet #2 tournament to finish second this week, knocking down 1,243 pins for a six-game average of 207.17.
Sophomore teammate Chloe Newberry had another top-5 finish, knocking down 1,227 total pins for an average of 204.5 over six games. Jada Bassette had a productive Senior Day for the Aggies. In three games, she averaged 199.33 and totaled 598 pins.
The Aggies have one more regular-season tournament, the Vanderbilt U Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tenn., March 17-19. The following week the Aggies will go after their third straight MEAC title in Virginia Beach, Va. A&T is 77-27 on the season.
