INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 26)- The Saint Vincent women's bowling team will head to Rochester, New York to take on Marian in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Bowling Tournament per the release of the bracket from the NCAA earlier today.

The Bearcats and Marian will compete in a single elimination mega match on Thursday, April 3 at 9 a.m. with the winner advancing to the regional round (double-elimination mega match) on Friday, April 4. The winner of SVC-Marian will take on the fourth ranked team in the country, Youngstown State.

Led by veteran Head Coach Jeff Zidek, the Bearcats went 49-17, including 13-1 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play. Saint Vincent won their first ever AMCC Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as well with the AMCC's automatic bid.

After starting the three-day AMCC 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 Bearcats won the mega match on Sunday against William Smith to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Saint Vincent is led by a mix of veterans along with a number of underclassmen contributors as well. Senior Sabine Strickland and sophomore Skyy Nicholls both earned All-AMCC First Team honors after their impressive seasons. Mareana Pilyih and Brooke Street were also major contributors for the Bearcats earning All-AMCC Second Team honors as well.

Daphne Stuber, Kaylie Kurland, Abby Justice were also key contributors for the Bearcats this season.