AA&M finishes as national runner-up
Lady Bulldogs bow to Fairleigh Dickenson in NCAA Bowling Final
HOUSTON, TX _ Alabama A&M's
magical run through the NCAA Women's Bowling National Tournament came to an end here
Saturday in a 4 games to 1 loss in the national
title match against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Lady Bulldogs, seeded fifth after the qualifying round, defeated two-time
defending champion Nebraska for the second time in
the tournament in the first session Saturday,
advancing to the final with a 4-2 win over the Cornhuskers. The Lady Bulldog's first loss in
the tournament was a close 4-3 decision to FDU Friday.
Whitney Smith proved why she is one of the most clutch rollers in the country in the second Nebraska match. Leading in games 1-0 after a 209-198 opening victory, A&M looked dead in game two. The Lady Bulldogs trailed by 31 pins entering the final frame. An open set by the Cornhuskers left the door open for Smith to push her team ahead 2-0. She responded with three strikes to close out the 200-199 win.
Nebraska answered the 2-0 lead with two straight victories, 189-181 in game three, and 212-157 in game four. The biggest break of the match came in game five.
With A&M leading through the fifth frame, Shanice Graham and Smith left the door open, much like Nebraska had done in game two. Needing a strike to seal the game and a 3-2 lead, the Huskers' anchor lost the handle of the ball and hit just five pins. A&M won 194-190, and cruised past a deflated Nebraska team in game six, 214-169.
The momentum was tough for A&M to carry over into the finals as tighter lane conditions and national television cameras were present for the championship match. Still, the Lady Bulldogs had their chances splitting the first two contests. FDU won the opening game 209-165, with A&M bouncing back 184-148 in game two.
The tournament MVP, anchor Lisa Friscioni from FDU, won a head-to-head match with Smith in frame 10 of game four. The Knights won the game 172-165 and held a 3-1 lead. FDU closed out the match in game five handily 196-165. For their efforts, Smith and Graham were named to the all-tournament team.
Alabama A&M head coach Jeff McCorvey was obviously well pleased with his teams' performance.
The other black college teams in the championship, Bethune-Cookman and Maryland-Eastern Shore bowed out earlier in the competition.
B-CC qualified Thursday as a seventh seed and faced No. 2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 3 Central Missouri State in Friday's opening day competition. The Lady Wildcats, making their second straight appearance in the championship, lost both matches by 4-2 scores and were eliminated.
B-CC competed with the minimum of just five (5) bowlers _ Sarah Circle, Angela Murrell, Ashlee Jackson, Tanya Henry and Ta'Sheika Green. Erica Crawford could not make the trip because of illness. "I'm very proud of what we did with just five players," said B-CC head coach Jerry Norris. "This team accomplished a lot this year."
AA&M pulled off its first upset as they squeaked by No. 4 seed UMES 4-3 in round one. UMES was later eliminated by New Jersey City 4-2 to finish in seventh place. Seniors MaryEtta Lewis and Sandra Maresca bowled their last matches for the Hawks. "We've absolutely had a great season," said UMES coach Sharon Brumwell whose team will compete in the U. S. Bowling Congress Championships in two weeks.
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