Bowling Rises a Spot to No. 6 in Latest NTCA Poll
3/8/2018 12:09:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks placed fourth at their own Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic and finished fifth at the Prairie View A&M Invitational in February, one of 10 teams to have 60 match wins this season
WHITEWATER, Wis. – After two top-five finishes in the month of February, the Stephen F. Austin bowling team moved up one spot to No. 6 in the updated edition of the National Tenpin Coaches Association top-25 poll. The Ladyjacks, who are one of just 10 teams in the top-25 poll to have achieved 60 match wins or more in 2017-18, own a 63-40 record (.612) for the season and posted a 13-13 mark in two tournaments during the month.
SFA turned in a fifth-place finish among 12 teams at the Prairie View A&M Invitational in Arlington, Texas, to begin February and wrapped up the month's competition by placing fourth among 18 teams at its Stormin' Ladyjack Classic. After standing in eighth place through the first day of play at the Stormin' Ladyjack Classic, the Ladyjacks jumped into third place following traditional team match play and registered their fifth top-five finish of the season and second of 2018. SFA has now turned in 51 consecutive top-10 finishes dating back to February of 2013.
Three-time NTCA First Team All-American and 2016 NTCA National Player of the Year senior Stephanie Schwartz (Racine, Wis.) is averaging a game score of 212.44 through 36 individual games bowled this season to lead the Ladyjacks. She garnered two top-15 individual finishes in February, placing 13th among 70 total bowlers at the Prairie View A&M Invitational and finishing eighth out of 110 bowlers at the Stormin' Ladyjack Classic. Schwartz bowled a career-high 290 in the third traditional team match on day two of the Prairie View Invitational, tying the school record for the highest individual game as SFA combined for the second-highest team score in program history with a 1,150.
The Ladyjacks are one of seven Southland Bowling League teams ranked in the latest NTCA top-25 poll, five of which are among the top 10. SFA joins third-ranked Arkansas State, No. 4 Vanderbilt, fifth-ranked Sam Houston State and No. 9 Tulane as SBL teams represented in the nation's top 10. Louisiana Tech, ranked No. 20, and 22nd-ranked Valparaiso are the other two SBL teams who appear in the latest top-25 poll.
Nebraska won 36-straight matches in February to retain the nation's No. 1 ranking, improving its season record to 86-11, which includes a 32-7 mark against the NCAA's top 10. The Huskers gained 36 first-place votes, while McKendree University held onto its No. 2 ranking with six first-place nods. The Bearcats own a composite season record of 66-22 and own the nation's best per game scoring average at 206.
The Ladyjacks are back in action this weekend at the United States Bowling Congress' (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championship Sectionals, held Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11 at the St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
For all the latest stats, events and NTCA top-25 polls check out NCAAwomensbowling.com, the home of the National Tenpin Coaches Association.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the 2017-18 season.
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