Women's Bowling | 3/21/2025 9:07:00 PM
RALEIGH, NC – What is the mission for the North Carolina A&T bowling team on a Friday at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowling Championship Tournament at Buffaloe Lanes?
Sleeping in on Saturday. The Aggies accomplished that goal, but it was not easy.
A&T is the eighth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTC), the MEAC regular-season champions for the fifth consecutive season and the tournament's top seed. The Aggies won their morning best-of-three Mega Match on Friday against No. 8 seed Norfolk State University (NSU) before defeating fifth-seeded Delaware State University (DSU) to advance to Saturday's semifinal contest against defending MEAC tournament champion, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
If the Aggies had lost either of the previous two contests on Friday, they would have been in the elimination bracket, forcing them to play at 9 a.m. match on Saturday. Instead, the long-time MEAC bowling rivals, A&T and UMES, will face off at 2 p.m.
"I enjoyed how the team and I were able to make quality shots and never gave up on ourselves and each other," said freshman Victorya White, the MEAC Rookie of the Year. "We continued to fight even when things got challenging."
Things would get challenging throughout the day. However, the Aggies started with a convincing 942-718 win over NSU during the traditional format portion of the Mega Match. White led the way with a strong 256 total pinfall. The Aggies completed the sweep during the Baker format with an 844-689 win to advance to play 23rd-ranked DSU. Three-time first-team All-MEAC bowler Chloe Newberry bowled a 213 to lead the way.
The Aggies kept their hot streak going by defeating the Hornets in Game 1 of the Mega Match. Maya Avilez, the 2025 MEAC Bowler of the Year, led the Aggies with a 231 in traditional format to defeat the Hornets 952-877. White added a 211 total pinfall in the win. But DSU squeezed by with a 950-936 during Baker format to tie the Mega Match series at 1-1, leaving open the possibility the Aggies would need a wakeup call on Saturday.
First-team All-MEAC senior Laura Garcia led the Aggies with a 198, followed by senior Grace Stull's 197. The Hornets had three go over a 200 total pinfall led by Jada Moore's 218. The Hornets win forced a match-deciding Game 3, a best-of-seven Baker format match.
"The most challenging part about today was finding momentum after our lunch break and being consistent with our targets," said White.
A&T found it. But again, it wasn't easy. The Hornets took Game 1, 232-201 before A&T narrowly escaped with a 178-177 win in Game 2. A&T took control from there, out-pinning the Hornets 598-499 over the final three games to win the best-of-seven 4-1 and the Mega Match series 2-1.
The Aggies will get a Hawks team, which prevented them from winning four straight MEAC tournament titles last season. A&T (eight) and UMES (11) have combined to win 19 of the 24 MEAC tournament championships ever awarded.
If A&T wins, they will get to sleep in again because they will advance to the championship match, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday. The match will air live on ESPN+ and re-air on Monday, March 24 at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
