ROCHESTER, NY – North Carolina A&T had a tall task ahead of it during Saturday's second day of the NCAA Rochester Regional. By losing on Friday in the second round, the Aggies bowling team needed to win three times at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes to win the Rochester regional and advance to play for a national championship in Las Vegas.
A&T conquered one-third of its mission but could not get beyond the second mission. A&T beat Sacred Heart 2-1 in Mega Match Saturday morning. But Arkansas State eliminated the Aggies from the NCAA tournament later in the day, 2-0, in Mega Match to win the Rochester Regional.
The Aggies, who entered the NCAA tournament as the seventh-ranked team in the nation, won twice at the regional but went 0-2 against the ASU Red Wolves. The Aggies went 1-6 against the Red Wolves during the regular season, but their one victory came recently during the Vanderbilt U Music City Classic.
The Aggies took the Red Wolves to all three formats of the Mega Match on Friday before losing in the deciding best-of-seven format, 4-3, to fall into the loser's bracket. But A&T got a chance to face its nemesis again but lost 1,068-954 in traditional games format to open its rematch against the Red Wolves.
Reigning two-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowler of the year, Melanie Katen led the Aggies with a 217 total pinfall. Three-time All-MEAC performer and the reigning two-time MEAC tournament most outstanding bowler, Lauren Tomaszewski, added a 210.
But the Aggies could not overcome solid outings from Brooklyn Buchanan (237), Faith Welch (235) and Emma Stull (225). In addition, Karli VanDuinen added a 204 total pinfall to put the Aggies away. The Red Wolves closed the match with a 1,068-954 win in Baker format to win the region.
The A&T lineup of Katen, Laura Garcia, Maya Avilez, Katie Robb and Tomaszewski lost the first two Baker games by a combined margin of 99 pins, but the Aggies recovered somewhat with a 225-204 win in Game 3. But the Red Wolves were too strong in Game 4, posting a 248-194 victory to force the Aggies into a Game 5 where they needed to bowl flawlessly.
It would not happen as the Red Wolves out-pinned the Aggies 211-204. As a result, the Aggies NCAA season ends at 91-34. But the reigning three-time MEAC champions are still headed to Las Vegas, April 14-15, to compete in two events sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).
A month ago, Cristina Acosta and Tomaszewski qualified for the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) nationals and will play for an individual national title. As a result of winning the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) Dayton (Ohio) Regional last month, the Aggies as a team will compete for the ITC national title in Vegas. The Aggies won the ITC title in 2015.
A&T started Saturday with hopes of winning the NCAA title, however. But Sacred Heart opened with a 1-0 lead over A&T by winning traditional format 1,072-952 despite a 234 pinfall from Katen. Then, the Aggies recovered to beat the Pioneers 1,010-976 in Baker format. The Aggies advanced to play the Red Wolves by winning the best-of-seven format, 4-1.
