Women's Bowling | 3/22/2025 9:09:00 PM
RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina A&T's two fifth-year seniors wanted five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowling tournament rings. The seniors wanted four. But four and three will do.
North Carolina A&T will get a chance to play for rings on Sunday as the Aggies advanced to the championship match of the 2025 MEAC Bowling Championship Tournament at Buffaloe lanes on Saturday by defeating the team that beat them last year for the championship, the 18th-ranked University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hawks.
The Aggies are top overall seed at the conference tournament by winning their fifth straight regular-season title. They are also the eighth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll. A&T looked like all of those things on Saturday against the defending champs. The second-seeded Hawks got hit by an onslaught from the Aggies, led by senior Chloe Newberry and fifth-year senior Laura Garcia.
It didn't help that the Hawks suffered through some open frames early, lending to the Aggies' early edge and their eventual 2-0 win in Mega Match play. An NTCA top-25 matchup will determine A&T's opponent. UMES, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will face the fourth-seeded UAB Blazers, the 19th-ranked team in the country, on Sunday morning at 9 in an elimination Mega Match. The winner will face A&T at 2 p.m.
The Aggies are after their ninth overall MEAC tournament title and fourth in the last five years. They will play in their eighth straight MEAC championship match on Sunday.
"It was super important to start fast," said Newberry, who claimed her third straight first-team All-MEAC honor on Thursday. "Against a team like UMES, you have to get ahead first because they will get strong toward the end. The lanes could get harder, so you really want to get ahead so you can have a little wiggle room at the end. It's really everything to get off to a fast start."
The Aggies defeated UMES 918-814 in traditional format to take a 1-0 lead in the Mega Match series. Newberry bowled a 231 total pinfall, and Garcia delivered a 210 pinfall to lead A&T.
"When you get the lead early, people tend to press a little bit, so that's always kind of our goal," said head coach Kim Terell-Kearney, the reigning five-time MEAC Coach of the Year. "I think even more so because the lane conditions are pretty difficult. The scoring pace is low, so there is more pressing that is likely to happen. It loosens our kids up and tends to put a little more pressure on the opponent."
The same torrid start took place in Baker format to help the Aggies with the sweep, 968-886. Senior Grace Stull set the tone, and Newberry polished off the Hawks. Newberry delivered a 231 pinfall, and Stull contributed by bowling a 213.
"We wanted to stack one good shot after another because this is one of the hardest patterns we've had since I've been here," said Newberry.
The championship match will air live on ESPN+ Sunday at 2 p.m. from Buffaloe Lanes. The broadcast will re-air on ESPNU on Monday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Stull, Newberry, and reigning MEAC Bowler of the Year Grace Still will be after ring No. 3. Garcia and Melanie Katen are trying to capture No. 4.
"We're hungry," said Newberry. "We were very upset by last year. I think it was because we were on a good streak (last year), and we didn't focus as much. But this year, we came locked in and ready for anything."
