Women's Bowling | 3/20/2026 7:16:00 PM
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T bowling team did the necessary things on Friday to put the program in place to capture its fifth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament title in six years.
The Aggies are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and ranked 12th in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25 poll. They won twice on Friday at the 2026 MEAC Bowling Championship Tournament, advancing to the semifinals. They will play No. 2 seed and 19th-ranked UAB at 2 p.m. at Triad Lanes, 21 Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC.
A&T cruised to a 2-0 victory over No. 8 Norfolk State before winning a close second-round match against the fifth-seeded University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hawks. The Aggies totaled 4,062 pins over 20 games played (203.1). The MEAC tournament uses a best-of-three Mega Match format: the first match is traditional team play, the second is Baker format, and, if needed, the third is a best-of-seven Baker match.
Junior Savanah Burgin bowled a 256 total pinfall to lead the Aggies to a convincing 1,050-613 win over the Spartans in traditional play. Freshman
Sara Giraldo contributed to the win with a total pinfall of 223, followed by a 218 total pinfall from junior
Payton Hartgrove. The Aggies also looked outstanding in Baker in Match 2, winning 972-657. A&T used the lineup of Giraldo, senior
Juliana Sams, Hartgrove, sophomore
Victorya White, and Burgin.
Over the first three games, the Aggies out-pinned the Spartans 663-387 to take control of the match and sweep their way to the next round, where longtime archrival UMES awaited. It certainly played out as a rivalry matchup.
Giraldo led the Aggies from her No. 4 position, posting a 239 total pinfall. Meanwhile, White, a two-time first-team All-MEAC performer, anchored the team with a 203 pinfall. The Aggies needed every pin in their 993-983 win over the Hawks to secure a 1-0 Mega Match lead. Next, both teams put on a tremendous bowling display in the Baker match, with the Aggies again opting for the lineup of Giraldo, Sams, Hartgrove, White, and Burgin.
A&T took an early advantage, out-pinning the Hawks 376-340. Then the fun started. Both teams bowled an amazing 10th frame before the Aggies blinked with a spare that allowed the Hawks to strike out to win 247-234. It didn't stop there. It got so good that the two teams tied in Game 4, 244-244, keeping A&T's pin advantage at 23 going into Game 5. UMES put a dent in that advantage, but not enough, as the Aggies held off the Hawks 1,047-1,209 to advance to Saturday's pivotal semifinal matchup with UAB.
UAB also swept its way to the semifinals, beating seventh-seeded Coppin State and sixth-seeded Howard to advance. A&T is 2-1 against UAB this season. If the Aggies win, they advance to the championship match for the eighth straight season. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The loser of Saturday's semifinal matchup between A&T and UAB must play Sunday at 9 a.m. for a chance to advance to the championship match.
