Women's Bowling | 3/20/2025 9:34:00 PM
RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina A&T's incredible run of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) accolades under head bowling coach Kim Terrell-Kearney continued Thursday when the MEAC announced its postseason bowling honors at the Hilton Garden Inn Raleigh.
Terell-Keaney earned her fifth straight MEAC Coach of the Year award on Thursday, making her the third coach from the A&T Department of Athletics to earn coach of the year, joining Hal Clifton in volleyball (Coastal Athletic Association) and Tarrell Robinson in women's basketball (CAA).
Meanwhile, on Thursday, senior Maya Avilez became the fourth different Aggie to win MEAC Bowler of the Year under Terrell-Kearney. It marks the fifth straight season an Aggie has won bowler of the year. Avilez is the fifth Aggie to win conference bowler of the year. Emily Strombeck and Melanie Katen won bowler of the year twice.
Freshman Victorya White became the second Aggie under Terrell-Kearney to earn MEAC Rookie of the Year, joining Ana Olya who won the honor in 2018. White is the third Aggie to win the award overall after Strombeck claimed the honor in 2013.
White and Avilez joined seniors Laura Garcia and Chloe Newberry as first-team All-MEAC recipients during the 2024-25 season.
"It's always an honor to be recognized by my counterparts," said Kim Terrell-Kearney. "There are some coaches really doing some great work."
Terrell Kearney has coached 12 players to 22 first-team All-MEAC accolades. Five bowlers have earned six second-team All-MEAC honors under Terrell-Kearney, and one bowler earned third-team honors.
Terrell-Kearney led the Aggies to their fifth straight MEAC regular-season title. The Aggies head into the MEAC Bowling Championship Tournament 80-36 overall and are the eighth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll. They won the regular season by going 12-2.
During the Prairie View A&M Invitational, Jan. 24-26, at the ITRC in Arlington, Texas, the Aggies defeated the top five teams in the nation and went 8-2 against teams from the NTCA top 25. Terrell-Kearney called it her favorite coaching moment this season.
"It felt like the moment these players began to recognize they cannot only play with the best in the country, they could beat them," Terrell-Kearney said.
The Aggies have 31 wins over NTCA top 25 teams this season. In addition, the Aggies were the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Allen Park (Mich.) sectional champion earlier this month, qualifying to compete for an Intercollegiate Team Championship (ITC) national title in April in Las Vegas.
The Aggies lead the MEAC in nearly every statistical category, boasting the highest overall team-scoring average of 20.206 pins per frame and the best team fill percentage (85.67). A&T has a conference-best 49.70 team strike percentage and a 71.50 team spare percentage.
Before the season Avilez earned MEAC preseason Bowler of the Year honors, completing a senior season where she led the league in individual frame fill percentage overall (87.7) and in baker format (87.0). She ranks second in the MEAC in traditional format fill percentage (88.6), strike percentage (51.5%), and first ball percentage (76.2). She has garnered three MEAC Player of the Week honors while accumulating a league-leading 74.5 spare conversion percentage. She is now a two-time first-team All-MEAC selection.
"I feel very honored. I have worked very hard this season, so it is nice to see it pay off," said Avilez.
White ranks first in the MEAC in individual scoring average with a 20.68 average per frame and first in baker format scoring per frame at 20.49. White holds the highest overall strike percentage at 53.2 percent and the highest in traditional format at 56.0 percent.
She also leads the MEAC in individual first ball percentage overall (77.1%) and in traditional format (77.9&) as well as the best individual first ball average pinfall overall (9.14) and in traditional format (9.19). White garnered MEAC Rookie of the Week honors three times while collecting Player of the Week honors twice.
"It feels surreal to be the rookie of the year," said White. "It feels like all the blood, sweat and tears I have shed over the seven, eight years into the sport is being recognized and appreciated by others."
Garcia received her first career All-MEAC accolade, while Newberry earned her third straight first-team All-MEAC accolade. The Aggies open the MEAC tournament on Friday with a 9 a.m. Mega Match at Buffaloe Lames in Raleigh, NC.
