Bowlers stay alive at NCAA Championships

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On the opening day of play at the NCAA Bowling Championships, the Bearkats had to survive an elimination match to stay alive in the tournament.

After dropping their opening match of the day against Fairleigh Dickenson the 12^th seeded Bearkats bounced back in the elimination match against Louisiana Tech.

The Kats had to fight through a best-of-7 match against La Tech, who was the top seeded team in the region and No. 4 seed overall. The Kats will now have a rematch with No. 5 Fairleigh Dickenson in another elimination match.

"The key right now is discipline," said head coach Brad Hagen. "The job doesn't change, no matter where you are in the bracket. We have to go out and win now."

Against La Tech the Kats and Bulldogs split the first two sets of the match, forcing a best of seven baker match. The Kats wasted no time jumping out in front winning the first three games. After dropping the fourth, the Bearkats closed out the match.

Hayley Connelly led the way for the Bearkats in the traditional set of the elimination match, bowling a 269, followed closely by Elise Chambers who rolled a 259. The Kats won the opening set against La Tech 1,160-946.

In the opening match of the day, FDU took the first two sets to win the match 2-0. In the traditional match the Kats lost by 35 pins, with Denise Blankenzee leading the way with a 243. The Baker was close as well with FDU winning by 26 pins.

If the Kats can fight off elimination in the morning against FDU, they will then have to beat Youngstown State twice to advance.

Bowlers stay alive at NCAA Championships

Players Mentioned

Denise Blankenzee

Elise Chambers

Hayley Connelly

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