Women's Bowling | 4/17/2026 11:36:00 PM
GREEN BAY, Wis. – After an impressive showing at the NCAA tournament two weeks ago, the North Carolina A&T bowling team took a shot at a national title via the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) route. The Aggies competed at the 2026 Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) at Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, which started on Thursday.
Unfortunately, the Aggies ran into the same incredible team they ran into during the NCAA tournament, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Despite the Aggies putting up a tremendous fight against a team that won the most recent NCAA national championship by finishing with a 103-10 record, A&T saw its season come to an end with a 4-3 loss to the Gamecocks in a best-of-seven Baker format showdown on Friday.
In addition to trying to win a team national championship in Wisconsin, A&T junior
Payton Hartgrove went after an individual national title at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) during the week.
On the team side, the Aggies began with a 24-game qualifying round and earned the No. 4 seed out of the Red bracket. They played a best-of-seven Baker match against Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), who earned the No. 13 seed. Sophomore
Jasmine Hall was the Aggies' leadoff bowler, followed by freshman
Charisse Graham, senior
Juliana Sams, and junior
Savannah Burgin.
Sophomore
Victorya White closed out the lineup as A&T's anchor. That lineup started fast, taking a 3-0 lead. A&T out-pinned SCAD 629-485 over the first three games. SCAD recovered to win Game 4, 190-157, then took Game 5, 207-183. SCAD forced a Game 7 by winning the sixth game 213-200. A&T held off SCAD's charge and advanced by winning the deciding game 217-193.
Over the first three games, the Aggies used the lineup of Hall, Graham, Sams, Burgin, and White. That resulted in A&T taking a 2-1 lead in the series, out-pinning Sacred Heart 353-309 over the first two games. The Pioneers won Game 2 209-172 before the two teams ended in a 187-187 tie in Game 4 as senior
Tiana Cruz entered the lineup in the No. 3 spot. The Aggies recovered to win Game 5, 234-194. The Aggies clinched the series with a compelling 190-188 win in Game 6, winning the series 4.5-1.5.
The win advanced the Aggies to face Jax State in the Red Bracket semifinals on Friday. The Gamecocks had won the 2026 NCAA national championship last week, their second NCAA title in three years. Jax State previously eliminated the Aggies in the Elite 8 at the NCAA Lansing (Mich.) Region, 4-0 in a best-of-seven Baker match.
Jax State sent A&T into the elimination bracket with another 4-0 victory. The Aggies staved off elimination with a 4-0 win over Maryville, putting A&T back into Jax State's path as part of the ITC Final Four. The Final Four also included McKendree and Louisiana Tech in the Blue bracket. The top team in the country narrowly advanced to play McKendree in the ITC final on Saturday.
On the individual side, Hartgrove advanced out of the first round with a 558-527 over Central Missouri's Haylee Bates. She was eliminated by Sam Houston State's Denise Blankenzee, 630-538.
Hartgrove, along with seven others, is expected back next season from a team that won its fifth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament in six years.
