National Champions Ranked No. 1 in Final NTCA Poll

Final NTCA Poll

WHITEWATER, Wisc. – After capturing the second team national championship in the school's NCAA Division I era, the SFA bowling team closes out its historic 2018-19 season as the No. 1 team in the country. The Ladyjacks, who won their second national title in program history just two short weeks ago, have been voted as the top team in the nation by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) as announced by the association late Thursday.

SFA received 17 of 23 possible first-place votes in the final NTCA rankings of the season to take the top spot, marking just the second time the Ladyjacks have been No. 1 in the national poll. SFA was also tabbed as the No. 1 team in the nation following its first NCAA national championship in 2016.

Going an unblemished 4-0 at the 2019 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship inside RollHouse Wickliffe in Wickliffe, Ohio, the Ladyjacks claimed their second national title in the last four years by coming back to defeat top-seeded and top-ranked Vanderbilt 4-1 in the championship match on ESPNU. SFA stormed into the title match as the championship's only remaining undefeated team, winning three-straight mega matches 2-1 before facing the reigning national champion Commodores. After dropping game one in the title match, the Ladyjacks caught fire and rolled their way to four-straight game victories for a 4-1 championship triumph.

Following a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Sam Houston State in the NCAA Championship first round, SFA edged second-seeded McKendree University by a mere two pins (188-186) in a decisive game seven of the mega match's best-of-seven Baker match. The Ladyjacks then defeated eighth-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore 2-1, which included a 4-0 win in the deciding best-of-seven Baker match, to reach their third NCAA Championship title match.

Seniors Dakotah Hazlewood and Paige Beeney, who were both named NTCA All-Americans, turned in big performances in SFA's national championship win. Beeney, the 2019 NCAA Bowling Championship MVP, bowled eight strikes, picked up a spare and left just one open frame in the Ladyjacks' title match victory, while Hazlewood, a NTCA First-Team All-American, picked up NCAA Championship all-tournament team honors after tallying seven strikes and collecting five spares against the Commodores.

Fellow Southland Bowling League member Vanderbilt earned five first-place votes to finish off the season as the No. 2 team in the nation, while McKendree grabbed one first-place nod to close out the year third nationally. Seven of the Southland Bowling League's eight members are ranked in the final NTCA poll with four teams ranked in the top 10. Sam Houston State ends its 2018-19 campaign fifth in the country as Arkansas State is sixth, Tulane 14th, Louisiana Tech 22nd and Youngstown State 24th.

SFA leaped five spots in the national poll following its NCAA Championship title after ending the month of March ranked No. 6. For the first time in program history, the Ladyjacks took home first place at three different tournaments throughout the season. Winning the 28-team Kutztown Invitational (Jan. 18-20) in Limerick, Pennsylvania, SFA posted its first undefeated tournament at the Sunshine State Winter Classic (Feb. 8-10) in Orlando, Florida, by going an unblemished 13-0.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the spring.

-SFA-

Schedule

National Champions Ranked No. 1 in Final NTCA Poll

Players Mentioned

Paige Beeney

Dakotah Hazlewood

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Stephen F Austin

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