Women's Bowling | 2/6/2026 9:28:00 PM
LOCKPORT, Ill. – Snowy weather played a significant role in the North Carolina A&T bowling team missing three weeks of competition. But the 13th-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25 poll in the A&T Aggies returned to competition on Friday during the first day of the Storm Flyer Classic hosted by Lewis University at the Strike & Spare II bowling alley.
The Aggies' return resulted in a 3-2 record in Baker-format play. The Aggies totaled 4,792 total pins, averaging 191.8 for the day. The Aggies looked sharp early despite a layoff due to a snow and ice storm that blanketed a portion of the country over the past two weeks. A&T started with a thrilling 978-970 win over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.
A&T's opening lineup included freshman
Charisse Graham, freshman
Sara Giraldo, sophomore
Jasmine Hall, junior
Payton Hartgrove, and sophomore
Victorya White. The Warhawks won the first game by 10 pins before the Aggies bounced back to win the second game by 43 pins. UWW appeared to take command of the matchup with a 246-168 Game 3 win. However, the Aggies out-pinned the Warhawks 402-349 to squeak by with the victory.
Sophomore
Tiana Cruz took over the leadoff spot for the Aggies in their second match against Elmhurst. White returned to the anchor position, with Hall, Hartgrove, and Giraldo filling positions 2, 3, and 4. The Bluejays struggled early as the Aggies took a commanding 410-306 lead over the first two games.
Elmhurst made it respectable in the third game, getting within five pins of the Aggies in a 216-211 loss, but the Bluejays could never get it going. The Aggies closed out the match by out-pinning Elmhurst 384-276 over the final two games to win 1,010-793. A&T also blew out its next opponent, the Belmont Abbey Crusaders, by using the same lineup it had against the Bluejays.
Belmont Abbey started well, beating the Aggies 178-152 in Game 1. The Aggies recovered with three 200-plus total pinfall games, including a total pinfall of 278 in Game 4. A&T's strong play ended in a 1,024-876 win over the Crusaders to improve to 3-0 on the day.
However, the Aggies faced their first ranked opponent, second-ranked Vanderbilt. The Commodores got the best of the Aggies, which continued to use the lineup of Cruz, Hall, Hartgrove, Giraldo, and White. Vanderbilt exceeded a 200 total pinfall in four of the five games to defeat A&T 1,065-872.
Eighteenth-ranked Valparaiso closed out the competition for A&T on Saturday. Cruz remained in the leadoff spot, with
Alexa Escamilla entering the lineup as A&T's No. 2. Graham reentered the action at the No. 3 position with Hall at No. 4. White remained the anchor. The Beacons opened with a 215-174 win before the Aggies dominated Game 2 by out-pinning Valparaiso 195-122.
A&T kept the advantage by winning the third game 181-179, taking a 34-pin advantage into the fourth game. The Aggies increased that advantage slightly with a 186-183 win in Game 4 before the Beacons took Game 5, 237-175, to win the match 936-911. A&T will play five traditional matches on Saturday, starting at 9:25 a.m.
