SMYRNA, Tenn. – Fresh off an outstanding showing and the Intercollegiate Team Championships and the Intercollegiate Singles Championships sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) last week in Dayton, Ohio, the North Carolina A&T bowling team returned to regular-season play on Friday at the Music City Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University at the Smyrna Bowling Center. 

Vanderbilt is hosting the tournament for the 19th straight season. The tournament features 31 teams, including 14 teams ranked in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) top-25. The Aggies, the seventh-ranked team in that poll, opened the tournament on Friday with a 2-3 record in Baker match format. 

A&T totaled 4,880 pins to place ninth with a five-game average of 195.2. Second-ranked Vanderbilt had the highest pinfall at 5,437, followed by 12th-ranked Louisiana Tech with 5,201 total pins. 

A&T opened the day with a 1,012-953 loss to sixth-ranked Youngstown State. The Aggies recovered to record their 32nd 1,000-plus game of the season as they defeated 20th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater 1,085-944. But the Aggies lost their next two matchups, starting with a 1,017-973 loss to fourth-ranked Arkansas State. A 1,042-998 loss to top-ranked McKendree moved the Aggies to 1-3 on the day. 

But the Aggies secured another win when they narrowly beat Valparaiso 871-870. After Friday, the Aggies are 79-31 on the season. The Aggies will return to action on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EST as they begin traditional team play with a contest against the University of Central Missouri. 

The Aggies will play four additional traditional team games against 19th-ranked Lincoln Memorial, Aurora University, Belmont Abbey and Spalding University. In addition, the Aggies will play one extra traditional team game on Sunday before playing two rounds of best-of-seven Bracket matches in bracket play.