Women's Bowling | 3/24/2023 11:30:00 AM

EAST GREENSBORO – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2023 postseason bowling honors on Thursday, and for the third consecutive season, North Carolina A&T dominated the conference's postseason superlatives. 

Junior Melanie Katen earned MEAC bowler of the year for the second consecutive season, and the MEAC named Kim Terrell-Kearney its coach of the year for the third straight season. In addition, the Aggies had three bowlers earn first-team all-conference honors, led by Katen. Senior Lauren Tomaszewski and sophomore Chloe Newberry joined Katen on the first team. 

Terrell-Karney won her fourth career MEAC coach of the year award after one when she was the head coach of Delaware State. In seven seasons, Terrell-Kearney is 509-278 (.647) with three MEAC championships and three NCAA appearances. As the Aggies head into the MEAC tournament this weekend, the Aggies are 86-31 overall and 15-1 in the MEAC. 

She led the Aggies to the 2022-23 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed at the tournament. The Aggies reached the No. 2 ranking in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll in December, the program's highest national ranking in history. Terrell-Kearney has established the Aggies program as a top-10 program in the nation. 

"I am so very proud of this group," said Terrell-Kearney. "We only get here by putting in the hard work. They get out there and battle every day. Each season, the MEAC puts together more and more talented programs. It is an honor to be recognized in this way."

The Aggies continue to get recognition for possessing the conference's best bowler each year. Katen's 2023 bowler of the year honor marks the third straight year an Aggie has earned the award, with Katen winning last season and Cameron Strombeck winning the award in 2021. 

Katen, who is now a three-time first-team All-MEAC performer, leads the MEAC in frame fill percentage (.878), single-pin spare percentage (.954), spare conversion (.773), makeable spare conversion (.863) and Player Composite Performance Index (.935). In addition, she ranks fourth in the MEAC pins/frame average (20.096). Nationally, she ranks fifth in spare conversion, sixth in single-pin spare percentage, and 10th in frame fill percentage. 

She bowled in 46 traditional games this season, totaling 9,362 pins to average 203.52. Katen went over 200 in a game 23 times. The highlight of her season came on Feb. 19 at the MEAC Meet #2 at Triad Lanes when she became the first bowler in program history to bowl a 300-game. Katen is the second Aggie to win back-to-back MEAC bowler of the year awards after Emily Strombeck did it in 2014 and '15.  

Tomaszewski came into the season as the 2022-23 MEAC preseason bowler of the year, coming off a season where she was the most outstanding performer at the MEAC tournament. Tomaszewski leads the conference in 10th-frame scoring average (20.621) and 10th-frame double percentage (.309) and ranks second in the conference in single-spare percentage (.950). 

Nationally, she ranks ninth in single-spare percentage, 10th in 10th-frame scoring average and 12th in 10th-frame double percentage (.309). Tomaszewski is a two-time first-team All-MEAC performer. She earned second-team honors as a sophomore. She bowled in a team-high 50 traditional games this season, totaling 10,053 pins to average 201.06. She posted a season-high 254 at the Music City Classic on March 25 and earned all-tournament honors by having the highest pinfall at the tournament. 

Newberry built momentum for her 2022-23 season after having a solid 2022 MEAC tournament. Newberry, who earned her first All-MEAC recognition on Thursday, has a .845 fame fill percentage, a .907 single-pin spare percentage, and a .698 spare conversion percentage. In addition, Newberry averaged 19.97 pins/frame. 

The Aggies head into the weekend seeking their third straight MEAC tournament title when competition begins at Pinboy's At The Beach in Virginia Beach, Va.