MATCH RESULTS

For the first time in program history, the Saint Vincent women's bowling team has earned a bid to the NCAA National Tournament, by winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship.

After starting the three-day tournament as the #1 seed and sweeping its first two matches to advance to the title match, the Bearcats faced William Smith College on Sunday morning with the conference's automatic NCAA bid on the line.  

The Herons got off to a quick start in the best-of-three overall "mega-match" series, jumping to an early 20-pin lead and building the advantage to 110 late in the game.  SVC added some strikes in the closing frame but lost by a score of 985-908.  Skyy Nicholls had the top score with a 194, while Mareana Pilyih added a 191 and Daphne Stuber finished with a 190.

Saint Vincent needed to bounce back in the second part of the match, a five-game Baker set with total pins determining the winner.  The match was close throughout, with WSC capturing the opening game by a score of 168-165.  SVC reeled off six strikes in a row in the second game, with Nicholls starting and ending the run.  Pilyih, Abby Justice, Brooke Street and Stuber also connected on strikes to lift the Bearcats to a 221-202 win, giving the team a 16-pin advantage.  After the Herons won game three by a score of 175-159, the match was tied with just two games to go.  Both teams threw well in game four, but the Bearcats lost 203-195, setting up the final game with SVC trailing by 8 pins.  Saint Vincent held a 15-pin lead through seven frames, but splits in the 8th and 9th frames appeared to give the Herons the victory.  However, a split in the 10th frame proved costly to WSC, and SVC prevailed by a score of 177-165, giving the Bearcats a 917-913 victory and tying the match, 1-1.

The match would then be decided by a best-of-7 Baker series, and the Bearcats took game one, 178-172.  Game two was the turning point for the day, as Saint Vincent pulled away for a 73-pin victory, 203-130.  After a 182-162 win made it 3-0 in the best-of-7, Saint Vincent dominated in the fourth game, winning 193-139 to earn the victory and win the AMCC Championship.

For the day, Nicholls led the team with an average of 204.1, while Street averaged 198.2.  For the tournament, Pilyih led the way with an average of 207.5, while Nicholls was second at 199.7.  Rounding out the top-5 for the Bearcats were Justice (185.7), Street (179) and Stuber (176.4).  Pilyih and Nicholls were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Saint Vincent (49-17) will await the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday to find out where they will be headed and who they will face in the first round.