Bowling Ranked Sixth in Final NTCA Coaches Poll
4/26/2018 2:53:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks complete 2017-18 as No. 6 team in nation according to final coaches poll of season
WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Stephen F. Austin bowling team entered the season as the sixth-ranked team in the nation and after completing 2017-18 last week, finishes ranked No. 6 in the final National Tenpin Coaches Association top-25 poll released Wednesday. The Ladyjacks slid just one spot throughout the season before rising back to No. 6 in the February release of the national coaches poll after posting two top-five finishes during the month.
SFA went 75-50 (.600) in 10 tournaments throughout the fall, winter and spring, earning six top-five finishes and culminating with a strong showing at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress' (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) last week. The Ladyjacks extended their streak to 51-straight tournaments of earning a top-10 finish at SFA's own 2018 Stormin' Ladyjack Classic in February and collected 126,780 total pins on the season.
Beginning 2017-18 with a third-place showing among 14 total teams at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational in Kenner, Louisiana, SFA earned fourth place in a field of 23 teams at the Brunswick Bearcat Open in Fairview Heights, Illinois. The Ladyjacks posted a fifth-place finish among 21 teams at the Track Kat Klash in Houston and were fifth out of 12 teams at the Prairie View A&M Invitational in Arlington, Texas. Fourth among 18 teams at the Stormin' Ladyjack Classic in Houston, SFA took home runner-up honors at the 2018 Southland Bowling League Championship in Dallas.
Seeded fourth at the eight-team league championship, the Ladyjacks won three consecutive matches to reach the finals. SFA defeated fifth-seeded Tulane (2-1) in the opening round before upsetting top-seeded Arkansas State (2-0) and upending No. 2 seed Arkansas State (2-0) in the semifinals. The Ladyjacks' run at the championship wasn't over until SFA was defeated by the Red Wolves in the title match.
Qualifying for the USBC's 2018 ITC at the Fairview Heights ITC sectional in March, SFA was one of 16 teams to compete for a national title at the Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Ladyjacks had another impressive run at a national tournament, earning the No. 9 seed for match play following the qualifying round and reaching the fifth round of the double-elimination bracket. Led by four-time NTCA All-American First Team selection Stephanie Schwartz, SFA was one of just four undefeated teams remaining after its first and second round victories over eighth-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore (4-1) and top-seeded Delaware State (4-2).
Vanderbilt earned the top spot in the final NTCA top-25 poll after claiming the 2018 NCAA title earlier this month, while McKendree finishes the season No. 2 and Nebraska No. 3. Seven of the Southland Bowling League's eight teams appear in the final coaches poll of 2017-18, including five ranked in the top 10. Led by No. 1 Vanderbilt, Arkansas State closes out the season as the nation's fourth-ranked team, followed by No. 5 Sam Houston State, No. 6 SFA, No. 10 Tulane, No. 20 Louisiana Tech and No. 24 Monmouth.
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 offseason.
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