DAYTON, OHIO – The intense collegiate bowling postseason that includes two opportunities to win a national championship is fast approaching, and the North Carolina A&T bowling team looks ready.
The Aggies had a super weekend at the Intercollegiate Singles Championship (ISC) and the Intercollegiate Team Championship (ITC) sectionals at Poelking Lanes South. The United States Bowling Congress sponsors both events.
The weekend started with the Aggies qualifying two bowlers for the ISC national championship round in seniors Cristina Acosta and Lauren Tomaszewski. The weekend concluded with the Aggies winning the Dayton sectional.
"We started slowly this semester, but as we approach a busy postseason, we are starting to play at our best and turning the corner at the right time," said A&T head coach Kim Terrell-Kearney. "This weekend was a great start."
Acosta finished second out of 154 competitors by totaling 1,294 pins in six games. She bowled four games over 200 in traditional play, including a 246 in her second game bowled. Acosta also had a 243, a 234 and a 203. She has gone over 200 just once during the 2022-23 season.
Tomaszewski, the preseason Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowler of the year, placed third behind her teammate with 1,266 total pins. She had five games over 200, failing to hit the 200-mark only once with a 185 in Game 5. Game 6 marked Tomaszewski's best over the weekend with a 242.
The ISC will feature the top 24 men and women who advanced out of four sectional qualifiers to compete for the individual national title held April 17-22 at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas. Lara Kurt of the Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) won the Dayton sectional with 1,302 total pins.
Four other Aggies finished among the top-30, including senior Jada Bassette (14th place, 1,167), junior Laura Garcia (17th, 1,150), sophomore Grace Stull (t-18th, 1,146 ) and sophomore Maya Avilez (26th, 1,130).
The Aggies took the Dayton sectional in as a team, totaling 12,398 pins over 64 Baker games. They played four blocks of 16 games apiece over Saturday and Sunday, with the Aggies placing seventh after the first block with 2,844 pins. But the Aggies played incredibly over the final three blocks.
A&T pummeled 3,192 pins in the second block to slide up to third place behind Sacred Heart and the University of Pikeville. The Aggies bowled a 3,065 in Block 3 to move into a tie for first with SCAD with 9,199 pins. In the fourth block, SCAD bowled a 3,177. But the Aggies had their best block of the weekend, bowling a clutch-filled 3,199 to become the women's division team Dayton champions.
The ITC, first contested in 1975, brings together the country's top 16 men's and women's teams to compete for national titles. The top four men's and women's teams from each sectional tournament earn berths into the ITC, April 19-22 at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.
The Aggies won the ITC national championship in 2015. The 2022-23 Aggies continue their season with their regular-season tournament finale at the Vanderbilt U Music City Classic hosted by the Commodores, March 17-19, in Smyrna, Tenn.
The MEAC tournament follows in Virginia Beach, March 24-26. The NCAA tournament is April 14-15 in Las Vegas.
