Thursday, April 19
Lincoln, Neb.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships
Bowling’s 2017-18 Season Comes to an End at 2018 Intercollegiate Team Championships
4/20/2018 7:31:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks finish among top six teams at USBC’s national tournament to complete 2017-18 season
LINCOLN, Neb. – Another impressive run at a national tournament for the Stephen F. Austin bowling team this week came to an end Friday afternoon at the United States Bowling Congress' (USBC) 2018 Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Ladyjacks, just one of 16 teams who qualified for the national tournament, earned the No. 9 seed for match play after Thursday's qualifying and finished among the final six teams before bowing out of the back draw finals.
Held at the Sun Valley Lanes, the three-day national championship event got underway Thursday morning with 24 Baker games to determine seeding for match play. SFA totaled 2,285 pins in the first 12-game block, before claiming another 2,280 pins in the second 12-game block to finish qualifying as the No. 9 seed with a pinfall total of 4,565. Of the 24 qualifying games, the Ladyjacks registered eight with a score of 200 or better.
With the first round and second rounds of best 4-of-7 Baker match play starting Thursday afternoon, SFA took on No. 8 seed Maryland-Eastern Shore in round one. The Ladyjacks walked away with a 4-1 match win, claiming games one, three, four and five of the match by scores of 183-175, 227-160, 201-200 and 212-194, respectively. In its second-round match, SFA upset top-seeded Delaware State 4-2. The Ladyjacks came back from a 2-0 deficit, claiming the final four games of the match 204-194, 196-175, 203-165 and 201-187.
Just one of four undefeated remaining teams with its first and second round victories, SFA advanced to Friday's fifth round of the double-elimination bracket. Facing red-hot fourth-seeded McKendree squad, the Ladyjacks were defeated 4-1. SFA claimed just the first game of the match (190-185) but dropped four-straight games as McKendree turned in two games of 258 and a final game of 238. Dropping to the back draw finals, the Ladyjacks bowled a competitive match with Savannah College of Art and Design.
Trailing 2-0 after the opening two games, SFA tied with SCAD-Savannah at 204 for game three before falling 203-175 in game four of the match. The Ladyjacks then began their comeback and took games five and six by scores of 214-188 and 227-181. However, SFA was ultimately defeated 203-259 in the seventh game of the contest to be eliminated 4.5-2.5.
The Ladyjacks run at the 2018 ITC was the second consecutive year SFA has made a good showing at the USBC's national championship tournament. Last season, the Ladyjacks finished qualifying as the No. 11 seed and reached the semifinals for SFA's third top-four finish at a national tournament in the last four years.
Although the Ladyjacks' 2017-18 season is complete as a team, SFA bowling is still being represented. For the third consecutive year, senior bowler Stephanie Schwartz will compete for an individual national title amongst a national television audience after advancing to the semifinals of the USBC's 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) Wednesday morning.
Schwartz will face Nebraska senior bowler Kelly Belzeski in Saturday's semifinal match as both the semifinals and title match will be bowled with one individual head-to-head game. The semifinals and finals of the 2018 ISC take place on Saturday, April 21 beginning at 3:15 p.m. CT. Both the ISC semifinals and finals will be televised on tape delay on CBS Sports Network next Tuesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. CT.
Visit BOWL.com/ISC for more information on the 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championships and BOWL.com/ITC for information on the 2018 Intercollegiate Team Championships.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the offseason.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Bowling
9.29.23 | Axe 'Em Insider Ep. 16 x Bowling
Friday, September 29
