Women's Bowling | 12/4/2025 12:50:00 PM
GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T freshman bowler Sara Giraldo completed an excellent first semester as a Division I collegiate bowler. Giraldo closed out the semester with three consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Week awards. The latest came on Wednesday when the conference announced its weekly honors.
Along with Giraldo, junior Payton Hartgrove earned MEAC Bowler of the Week, marking the first time since transferring from Alabama State that she captured a weekly honor from the MEAC. Hartgrove played in 50 traditional team frames and 82 Baker format frames and recorded a 93.9 percent overall fill rate and 63.6 percent strike percentage during A&T's final tournament of the 2025 fall semester, the Colonial Lanes Classic, played in at Colonial Lanes in Harahan, La., November 21-23.
Hartgrove finished fifth overall to earn all-tournament honors. In a field that included 16 teams ranked in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) top-25, Hartgrove tallied 1,104 total pins over five matches to average 228.8 pins.
In Baker play, Hartgrove produced a 22.98 average per frame, the highest among all MEAC bowlers for the week. She also led the conference in spare shooting at 83.3 percent. Her 9-count spare conversion rate stood at 92.1 percent, and she led the league in traditional frame average (22.08). For the week, Hartgrove led the MEAC in traditional frame average, Baker frame average, and overall fill percentage.
Hartgrove helped the Aggies go 6-7 overall and 2-3 against ranked competition.
Meanwhile, Giraldo finished 14th at the Colonial Lanes Classic, totaling 1,054 pins in traditional play for a 210.8 average. She posted a better than 230 total pinfall in two of A&T's traditional team matches. She ranked third in overall average per game (21.21), fourth in traditional average per frame (21.08), and second in strike percentage (58.3 percent).
The Aggies return to action January 16-18 at the Northeast Classic hosted by Sacred Heart in New Castle, Del.
