NCAA Women's Bowling Final Four Set
Southern is last HBCU eliminated; UMES rolls 300 Baker game
April 10, 2004
HOUSTON, TX -- Only four remain with the biggest prize in collegiate
bowling on the line-the first-ever NCAA Women's Bowling National
Championship. The one, two, four, and six seeds survived Friday's
double-elimination round of the NCAA Tournament, as Central
Missouri State University, the University of Nebraska, Fairleigh
Dickinson University, and New Jersey City University, each
made history by reaching the first-ever Final Four. In all,
two Division I, one Division II, and one Division III school
remain and will vie for the national championship on Saturday.
Central Missouri (77-25), the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament,
will have the easier remaining road to the national title. CMSU only needs
to win once to become national champions, and will wait through two rounds
of the loser's bracket to see who it will face in the national final. The survivor
of the losers' bracket must defeat the Jennies twice for the crown.
NJCU, the No. 6 seed (63-36-1) will face Northern New Jersey archrival Fairleigh
Dickinson University (79-22), the No. 4 seed, in Game 12 of the tournament
tomorrow at 11:30 am in the Final Four. The winner of that best 4-out-of-7
series will face second-seeded the University of Nebraska (63-16) 25 minutes
following the completion of the series in Game 13; the loser will be eliminated.
The winner of Game 13 will face CMSU with a shot at the national championship
on the line. Again, the loser of that series will be eliminated.
CMSU defeated No. 8 seeded Winston-Salem State University (59-17)
in the first round, 4-1, and then beat FDU in the second round, 4-3. Nebraska
upended #7 Maryland-Eastern Shore (79-45) in the opening round,
4-1, before the Cornhuskers outlasted Sacred Heart University (70-42), the
third seed, 4-2.
In a classic winner's bracket showdown, CMSU survived Nebraska, 4-3, and won
the seventh and deciding game by a single pin. 193-192. CMSU led the series
2-0 before UNL rebounded to even the series at 2-2. The Jennies won the fifth
game, 184-173, before the Huskers forced the seventh game with a dominating
246-150 victory.
Perhaps the most intriguing story of this NCAA Championship has been Division
III's New Jersey City University, who will play in the Final Four, after becoming
the first women's team in the University's history to ever qualify for an NCAA
Tournament. The Gothic Knights had perhaps the hardest route to the final day.
Facing elimination after losing to Sacred Heart University in a 4-0 sweep in
the first round, the Gothic Knights avoided elimination in the second round
by sweeping the UMES, 4-0 to stay alive, then exacted revenge by eliminating
SHU in the third round, 4-1.
"I'm a little numb," said NJCU Head Coach Frank Parisi. "It's
an emotionally draining experience. I'm obviously extremely excited about what
this team has achieved today and very proud of them, especially after getting
swept in some very close games to Sacred Heart [in the first round]. They could
have packed it in after a real devastating loss, but they regrouped and took
care of business against Maryland-Eastern Shore."
"[Assistant Coach] Rusty Thomsen talked to them right before the [third
round] match with Sacred Heart and said you don't get a second chance often
in life, and that they needed to take advantage of it. They did. They took
care of business again against Sacred Heart. It's great to be one of the final
four teams remaining, and the only Division III school. And now we have a chance
to move on and challenge for the national championship."
FDU gives the state of New Jersey two of the four in the national semifinals.
The Knights, seeded fourth, survived No. 5 Southern University (88-33) in the
first round, 4-3, lost to CMSU in the second round, and also stayed alive by
defeating Southern for a second time, 4-1, thus eliminating the Jaguars.
No. 7 UMES lost to Nebraska in the first round before being eliminated by
NJCU, 4-0. WSSU was eliminated in the second round by Southern, 4-0.
UMES entered the tournament ranked eighth in the country in
total pinfall and have been ranked in the top ten of several other national polls.
"We made the first ever NCAA Championship field, one of eight teams in the country, we made
the IBC Championships for the second straight year [which the Lady Hawks bowl in next
weekend], and rolled the first 300 Baker game in the history of NCAAs," said Head Coach
Sharon Brummell.
That game is extremely rare. It is not only the first ever game recorded in NCAA Bowling
competition, but is so rare that "in ten years of professional team bowling only one was
recorded," said one writer from The Bowling Journal.
The Lady Hawks entered day two in seventh place and stayed there after bowling a combined
11,071 pins. That seven seed forced UMES to bowl Nebraska in the opening round. The Huskers
took that series four games to one. (211-142, 197-178, 171-183, 237-193, 217-214) That loss pushed
the Lady Hawks to the loser's bracket where they took on New Jersey City, who was swept by
Sacred Heart in round one. The Gothic Knights repaid the favor, taking out the Lady Hawks
four games to none (212-132, 174-148, 189-178, 167-134).
The day began at 9am with the second half of the qualifying round. The total
pinfall from 21 baker games combined with the pinfall from Thursday's seven
matches of regular team bowling determined the seeding for the double-elimination,
best 4-out-of-7 series, which began at 2pm.
ESPN2 will televise the championship on a one-day tape delay on Easter Sunday,
April 11 from 1-2:30 pm.
2004 NCAA WOMEN'S BOWLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT DOUBLE-ELIMINATION
ROUND 1:
#1 Central Missouri State University def. #8 Winston-Salem State University,
4-1
#4 Fairleigh Dickinson University def. #5 Southern University, 4-3
#3 Sacred Heart University def. #6 New Jersey City University, 4-0
#2 University of Nebraska def. #7 Maryland Eastern Shore, 4-1
ROUND 2:
Winner's Bracket
#1 Central Missouri State University def. #4 Fairleigh Dickinson University,
4-3
#2 University of Nebraska def. #3 Sacred Heart University, 4-2
Loser's Bracket
#5 Southern University def. #8 Winston-Salem State
University, 4-0
Winston-Salem State University ELIMINATED
##6 New Jersey City University def. #7 Maryland Eastern Shore, 4-0
Maryland Eastern Shore ELIMINATED
ROUND 2:
Winner's Bracket
#1 Central Missouri State University def. #2 University of Nebraska, 4-3
Loser's Bracket
#6 New Jersey City University def. #3 Sacred Heart University, 4-1
Sacred Heart University ELIMINATED
#4 Fairleigh Dickinson University def. #5 Southern University, 4-1
Southern University ELIMINATED
2004 NCAA Women's Bowling Team Standings
(after Day 2)
