Women's Bowling | 4/7/2023 11:32:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – There is no room for error if the North Carolina A&T bowling team wants to book a flight to Las Vegas next week. The Aggies entered the loser's bracket of the NCAA Rochester Regional after a fierce, back-and-forth tussle with Arkansas State.
Despite a historic and career-high 299 from junior Laura Garcia in traditional games format, the Red Wolves defeated the Aggies 2-1 in Mega Match style at Bowl-A-Row Lanes. The loss puts the Aggies in a 9 a.m. elimination match against Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Sacred Heart lost its opening-round Match against Arkansas State before beating Medaille in an elimination contest later in the day. A&T placed Medialle in the loser's bracket after defeating the Mavericks 2-0 in Mega Match.
It set up the 3 p.m. matchup against the Red Wolves, the third overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Led by the left-hander Garcia, the Aggies took a 1-0 lead with a 1,090-1,014 win over the Red Wolves in traditional. Garcia's 299 follows a perfect-game 300 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowler of the year Melanie Katen recorded in Greensboro on Feb. 18.
Three-time All-MEAC selection Lauren Tomaszewski helped the Aggies put up the large total with a 226 total pinfall. Cristina Acosta and Katie Robb complemented Garcia's performance by bowling 201 and 200, respectively.
Arkansas State evened the Mega Match with a 1,006-948 win over the Aggies in Baker format. The Red Wolves win forced a best-of-seven Baker match to determine who would advance to the Rochester Regional championship match.
The teams split the first two games before the Red Wolves captured Game 3 with a 206-197. Arkansas State won Game 5 resoundingly to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven.
Undeterred, the Aggies roared back, winning Game 5 by the thin margin of 213-209, to force a Game 7. A&T took Game 6 238-211 to even the series 3-3. But the Red Wolves advanced by winning 191-172 in the deciding Game 7.
"They're a great team, so we certainly had to be at our best," said A&T head coach Kim Terrell-Kearney about Arkansas State. "We look forward to tomorrow. We have an opportunity to get back against them and find our way to Vegas."
A&T must win three times on Saturday to advance to the NCAA Bowling Final Four next week. If the Aggies beat Sacred Heart, they will meet Arkansas State in the championship match at 3 p.m. They will immediately play the Red Wolves again if they are successful in the 3 p.m. contest.
The Aggies opened Friday's play against Medialle, where they captured the traditional format of the Mega Match 1,021-904. Katen led the way with a 248 total pinfall. Garcia, who had a big day, added 213 to own the highest pinfall (512) and average of the day (256.0). Tomaszewski added a 207. A&T then took the Baker format, 994-983, to send the Mavs to the loser's bracket.
"We found ourselves in a bind at the end of that second format, and we just had to make great shots to give ourselves a chance, and that is what they do. They never give in, they never quit, and I couldn't be more proud of them.
Going forward, we just have to figure out to come out of the blocks with a little more intensity. They have to understand that these are the best teams in the country. They're not going to give in."
