For the eighth straight championship and the ninth time in 10 seasons, the Sam Houston bowling team will participate in the NCAA Championships. 
 
Wednesday afternoon, the Bearkats were one of 16 teams selected to participate in this season's Regional competition in Kansas City, Mo. starting on April 7. The Bearkats were one of 10 teams to receive an at-large bid to the championships.
 
"With everything with have been dealing with this season, we feel so fortunate to still be bowling this season," said head coach Brad Hagen. "On top of all the changes to the season with adjusted tournament formats and limited fields, we have had to overcome injuries along the way as well. I know everyone is dealing with stuff this time of year, but I'm really proud of what we have overcome to get here again."
 
The Bearkats are in Region 4 and will face Fairleigh Dickenson in the opening round of the tournament. Louisiana Tech is the top seeded team in the region and will face Youngstown State in the other Region 4 matchup. 
 
The Bearkats have been led this season by freshman Denise Blankenzee who was named the Southland Conference Bowler of the Year and Newcomer of the year. 
 
"We have had our ups and downs this year, but it feels good to get a chance to go to the NCAA championship," Blankenzee said. "We really built a lot of energy at conference and I think that can help us." 
 
The winners of each regional will advance to the NCAA championship. The championship matches will be played April 9-10. Both regional and championship rounds will be played at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes in North Kansas City, Missouri. The University of Central Missouri and Kansas City Sports Commission are the hosts.
 
The regional and championship brackets will be double-elimination, with each round consisting of a best-of-three match that includes the use of three team game formats- baker total pin fall, five-person team match and a best-of-seven baker match play. Regional competition will conclude with one team from each regional bracket advancing to compete in the championship. 
 
The champion will be determined using a best-of-seven baker match play. The championship final will air at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, April 10 on ESPNU.
The winners of the four regional rounds will advance to the finals, also in Kansas City, on April 9-10.