Women's Bowling | 10/11/2026 9:19:00 PM
HARAHAN, La. — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University nearly captured its first non-conference bowling tournament title in three years at the 2026 Colonial Classic, hosted by Tulane University at Colonial Lanes over the weekend.
Instead, the Aggies, the ninth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA), finished second after Sunday's best-of-seven bracket play in Baker format. They finished second to longtime NCAA tournament rival Louisiana Tech, losing in the championship match in six games. The Aggies went 11-2 over the three-day tournament.
They totaled 3,229 pins on Sunday, and 12,970 for the tournament. A&T averaged 190.7 pins over 68 games. La Tech, ranked seventh in the nation, won the tournament with a 13,270 total pinfall. Eighth-ranked Sam Houston State University placed third (13,051), followed by 17th-ranked Tulane (13,584) and Alabama State (12,939). During the tournament, the Aggies defeated the three ranked teams they faced — La Tech, SHSU, and Tulane.
A&T opened Sunday's competition against La Tech, using sophomore
Charisse Graham as the leadoff bowler and senior
Savannah Burgin as the anchor. Juniors
Jasmine Hall and
Victorya White bowled in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, and tournament medalist and senior
Payton Hartgrove bowled in the No. 4 position.
A&T claimed Game 1 from the best-of-seven series, 224-202. The Bulldogs took the next four games to win the series 4-1, out-pinning the Aggies 768-647 over those four games. The loss set up a matchup against Tulane as they tried to fight to the tournament's championship round. Graham and Burgin remained in the leadoff and anchor positions, respectively, but the Aggies made some changes in the middle of their lineup. Sophomore
Alexa Escamilla took the No. 2 spot, and Hall moved from No. 2 to No. 3. White moved from No. 3 to No. 4. The new-look lineup lost Game 1, 203-144, before responding strongly in Game 2. A&T evened the series 1-1 with a 235-140 win before the Green Wave took a 2-1 lead with a narrow 184-181 victory.
After the Aggies won Game 4, the Green Wave took a 3-2 series lead with a 199-152 win. However, they finished strong, forcing a Game 7 with a 212-182 win before taking a hotly contested Game 7, 182-167. The win moved the Aggies into the championship round against La Tech. A&T utilized the same lineup it used against Tulane to face the Bulldogs for the championship.
La Tech took the first two games by out-pinning the Aggies 382-346, and the teams tied 186-186 in Game 4. The Bulldogs then built a commanding series lead with a 176-161 win. A&T earned its first win of the series, 222-216, before La Tech clinched the 2026 Colonial Classic with a 201-147 win in Game 6.
A&T sought its first non-conference tournament win since the 2023 Colonial Classic. Hartgrove did win the tournament as an individual. The Aggies will get right back to work next week as they travel to Ohio for the Penguin Classic, hosted by Youngstown State University.
