Women's Bowling | 1/26/2025 8:35:00 PM
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – North Carolina A&T's bowling team closed out a terrific weekend at the International Training and Research Center (ITRC) on Sunday during Day 3 of the Prairie View A&M University Invitational by placing third after Sunday's best-of-seven Bracket play format.
The Aggies had a total pinfall of 14,132, the highest of the tournament. They averaged 214.1 pins over 66 games. The Aggies finished 11-2 over the weekend, with wins over eight ranked teams in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Coaches poll, including every team in the top five of the poll.
A&T beat eighth-ranked Sam Houston State University (SHSU) twice over the weekend.
Sunday started with an additional traditional format game for the Aggies as they faced ninth-ranked Maryville. The Aggies went 5-0 during traditional format play on Saturday but lost to Maryville 1,066-1,008.
Senior Maya Avilez led the Aggies by posting a 248 total pinfall. Freshman Jasmin Hall added a 213, but the Aggies could not overcome three Maryville bowlers, who posted a 225 or better total pinfall, led by Alexis Ingersoll's 231.
Avilez, the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowler of the week, finished Saturday's play in fifth place before her showing on Sunday moved her up to second place with a total pinfall of 1,408. She averaged 234.67 over six games, finishing behind Vanderbilt's Isabel Allen. She totaled 1,440 pins for an average of 240.0.
Hall finished the weekend in fourth place as an individual with a total pinfall of 1,381 for a six-game average of 230.17. Hall's 289 total pinfall from Saturday's Game 3 tied for the best score over the weekend with Louisiana Tech's Rachel Ong. Senior Laura Garcia finished in the top 25 as she ended traditional play with a 1,254 total pinfall, averaging 209.0 over six games to finish 25th.
A&T opened bracket play against SHSU. The Aggies took a commanding 3-0 lead by out-pinning the Bearkats 707-603. SHSU recovered to win Game 4 228-195. But the Aggies put the Bearkats away with a 205-194 Game 5 win.
The Aggies moved on to face second-ranked Jacksonville State with a chance to win the tournament as they out-pinned SHSU 1,107-1,025.
Second-ranked Jacksonville State stood in the way of the Aggies winning the PVAMU invite. After going 0-7 against the defending national champion Gamecocks last season and losing to them earlier this season, the Aggies defeated Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Things started well for the Aggies on Sunday as well. A&T defeated the Gamecocks in Game 1, 223-194. The Gamecocks won Game 2 before the Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the series by narrowly out-pinning Jacksonville State 246-244.
However, the Gamecocks won the series 4-2 by winning three straight, out-pinning the Aggies over those three games, 688-612. In a shootout, Jacksonville State had a total pinfall of 1,351 compared to A&T's 1,272.
After the PVAMU invite, the Aggies are 49-22 overall. They will take a week off from competition before heading to Lockport, Ill., to participate in the Fyler Invitational hosted by Lewis University.
