Bowling Ranked No. 7 Nationally in Latest NTCA Poll
12/6/2017 6:01:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks enter their 2017-18 spring championship season as the No. 7 team in the nation as the Southland Bowling League dominates the top 10
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Entering the 2017-18 season ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association preseason poll, the Stephen F. Austin bowling team finds itself seventh nationally in the December version of the NTCA poll. Released Wednesday afternoon, the Southland Bowling League dominates the top 10 with five teams ranked in the top nine and seven total in the top 25.
The Ladyjacks are ranked directly behind Delaware State out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference but stand ahead of three fellow Southland Bowling League members. Tulane, who is ranked ninth nationally, No. 19 Louisiana Tech and 24th-ranked Monmouth University are all below SFA in the top-25 poll. Third-Ranked Arkansas State leads all Southland Bowling League teams, followed by No. 4 Vanderbilt and fifth-ranked Sam Houston State, the three keeping identical rankings from the preseason.
Reigning national champion McKendree University slipped to No. 2 in the nation, while 2015 NCAA champion Nebraska took over the top spot in the poll after going 33-5 during the fall.
SFA posted a 31-20 record across its four fall tournaments, earning a season-best third-place finish at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational in Kenner, Louisiana, to open up its 2017-18 campaign. Going 9-4 at the event, the Ladyjacks followed up that performance by bowling to a 10-3 record and placing fourth out of 23 teams the following weekend at McKendree's Brunswick Bearcat Open in Fairview Heights, Illinois. SFA won 17 matches against nationally-ranked opponents, including picking up a victory over No. 3 Arkansas State and defeating Sam Houston State three times.
With little surprise, senior Stephanie Schwartz (Racine, Wis.) seems to be on pace for another banner year after bowling to the tune of a 212.35 average and capturing October Southland Bowler of the Month honors. She bowled a career-best 278 during the Ladyjacks' win over Valparaiso in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational. It was the fourth-highest score ever posted by a Ladyjack in program history. The three-time NTCA First-Team All-American began the season with a bang as she won the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational and claimed MVP honors with a 245.6 average in five matches.
Two of SFA's four freshman are off to strong starts to their collegiate careers with true freshmen Sarah Voiers (Chesterton, Ind.) and Sarah Gill (Attleboro, Mass.) emerging among the Ladyjacks' top bowlers. Voiers (198.07) and Gill (198.06) finished the fall with nearly the same scoring average as SFA's second and third-highest pinfall getters.
The Ladyjacks have a little over a month before taking to the lanes for competition once again. SFA begins its spring season at Arkansas State's Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Friday-Sunday, Jan. 12-14.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the 2017-18 season.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Bowling
9.29.23 | Axe 'Em Insider Ep. 16 x Bowling
Friday, September 29
