Stephanie Schwartz Finishes Collegiate Career as Individual National Champion
4/21/2018 7:52:00 PM | Women's Bowling
The four-time All-American first-team selection claims the USBC’s 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championships Saturday afternoon
LINCOLN, Neb. – Stephen F. Austin senior bowler Stephanie Schwartz will go out as an individual national champion after claiming the United States Bowling Congress' (USBC) 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) Saturday afternoon at the Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska. The third time was a charm for the Racine, Wisconsin, native who was making her third consecutive semifinal appearance at the national championship tournament.
Among a nationally televised audience, the four-time National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-American First Team member earned back-to-back match victories against stiff competition in single game total pin format.
Facing Nebraska senior bowler Kelly Belzeski in the semifinals, Schwartz bowled a 201 but so did Belzaski. The two were forced into a 9-10 frame roll off, which Schwartz took 40-29 to clinch the match and advance to the championship finals.
In the title match, Schwartz faced recently named NTCA Player of the Year Haley Richard from fellow Southland Bowling League member Arkansas State after Richard defeated Vanderbilt's Kristin Quah in the other semifinal. Schwartz rose to the challenge, as she has done throughout the entirety of her collegiate career, and knocked off the two-time NTCA Player of the Year by a score of 259-226. The high-quality match triumph giving Schwartz an individual national title to complete her four-year Ladyjack bowling career.
"It means the world to me," Schwartz said following her title match win. "It's my senior year and I fell short the past two years. To win it this year and go out as a national champion means a lot. Not only did I win it for myself, but for my team, my coaches and my family. I've had a great four years and I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of SFA bowling."
Schwartz will graduate as the only SFA student-athlete to have claimed both a team national championship and an individual national title. In 2016, Schwartz led the Ladyjacks to an NCAA championship, SFA's only NCAA title in its Division I era.
Both the ISC semifinals and finals will be televised on tape delay on CBS Sports Network this Tuesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. CT.
Visit BOWL.com/ISC for more information on the 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championships.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the offseason.
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