A woman’s bowling tournament at Prairie View A&M University Invitational at the International Training and Research Center (ITRC) has seen the North Carolina A&T squad emerge victorious over the five top bowling teams in the country on the tournament’s second day.
On the school’s athletic page, it was reported that the team finished third overall when the Prairie View A&M University Invitational ended on Sunday, Jan. 26. The Aggies, based on rankings from the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Coaches’ Poll was the 10th-ranked team in the nation and finished 5-0 on the tournament’s second day of games.
The team had a total pinfall of 14,132, amounting to the highest of the tournament. The women averaged 214.1 pins over 66 games and finished the weekend with a 11-2 record.
When the games started on Jan. 26, in a traditional format game, North Carolina A&T took on the ninth-ranked Maryville and lost when their opponent outscored them 1,066-1,008.
The school opened bracket play against Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and rushed out to a 3-0 lead by out-pinning the Bearkats 707-603. Although SHSU won the fourth game, 228-195, North Carolina A&T defeated the Bearkats with a 205-194 Game 5 win.
The Aggies then went up against the University of South Carolina and took the first contest by a score of 223-194. After South
Carolina won Game 2, the Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the series by narrowly out-pinning Jacksonville State 246-244. However, the Gamecocks took the series 4-2 by winning three straight, out-pinning the Aggies over those three games, 688-612. In a shootout, Jacksonville State had a total pinfall of 1,351 to North Carolina A&T’s 1,272.But senior Maya Avilez, who led the Aggies by posting a 248 total pinfall, is the current Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowler of the week. She averaged 234.67 over six games, finishing behind Vanderbilt’s Isabel Allen. She had a total of 1,440 pins for an average of 240.
The Aggies record stands at 49-22 after playing in the invitational and will compete in Lockport, Ill., to participate in the Fyler Invitational hosted by Lewis University.
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