ROCHESTER, N.Y. (4/8/23) – Defeating North Carolina A&T 2-0 in a mega-match Saturday afternoon, the No. 3 overall seed Arkansas State women’s bowling team punched its ticket to Las Vegas for the 2023 National Collegiate Bowling Championship April 14-15 at South Point Bowling Plaza.
With the win, A-State moves to 82-29 on the season and is 29-3 over its last 32 head-to-head matches. Winners of the Southland Bowling League Championship and the Rochester Regional, the Red Wolves are 7-0 in mega-matches this season. A-State is assured of a top four finish in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in program history following runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2021 and third-place finishes in 2010 and 2013.
A-State took the 1-0 lead winning the traditional point 1,068-954. During the sixth frame, the Red Wolves had eight consecutive strikes and 10 of 11 overall to open up an advantage. Led by a 237 from anchor Brooklyn Buchanan, four A-State bowlers topped 200 pins. Faith Welch closed out a 235 with seven-straight strikes and Emma Stull totaled 225. Karli VanDuinen added 204 pins and Maggie Thoma downed 167 to help the Red Wolves take the lead.
The Red Wolves got off to a great start in Baker total pinfall producing an 80-pin margin, 248-168, in game one. The advantage grew to 99 pins with a 222-203 margin in game two, but the Aggies cut the deficit to 78 in game three, 225-204. A-State essentially clinched the match in game four rolling 248 to the Aggies’ 194 to lead by 132 pins entering the final game. The Red Wolves made it 5-for-5 in 200 games with a 211-204 margin in game five to win total pinfall 1,133-994 with the 1,133 total pins the third-largest output this season for A-State.
The championship matches will be played April 14-15 at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each of the top four seeds in the NCAA field reach the championship in Las Vegas. No. 1 McKendree will meet No. 4 Nebraska while No. 3 Arkansas State meets No. 2 Vanderbilt. For the latest on A-State bowling, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateBowling), Facebook (/AStateBowling) and Instagram (@redwolvesbowling).
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