SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE BEARCATS (45-3, 10-2 AMCC) vs. BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE CRUSADERS (38-43) NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCH NOTES
The Saint Vincent Women's Bowling team is headed to the NCAA National Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Bearcats won their second straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship last week to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
WHEN: Thursday, April 2
WHERE: AMF Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
TIME: 9:00 a.m.
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SAINT VINCENT AT A GLANCE
The Bearcats will be competing in their second NCAA Tournament match in program history on Thursday against Belmont Abbey. Saint Vincent was the number one seed in the AMCC Championship Tournament, compiling a 10-2 conference record during the regular season. After winning their first two matches at the AMCC Tournament, the Bearcats went on to defeat Alvernia in a championship mega match to clinch the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Junior
Skyy Nicholls and sophomores
Mareana Pilyih and
Brooke Street were all named to the AMCC First Team, marking the first time since the AMCC went to a First/Second team system ten years ago that three members of the same squad have achieved the honor. Sophomore
Kaylie Kurland joined her teammates on the award list, named All-AMCC Second Team. Freshman
Savannah Douglass earned the conference's Newcomer of the Year award. Additionally,
Daphne Stuber and
Lilly Houle both were impactful and were named to the AMCC Tournament All-Tournament team. Led by veteran Head Coach
Jeff Zidek, the Bearcats have won the last two AMCC Championships and did not lose a single match at the conference tournament this season. SVC finished second at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championship's sectionals a couple of weeks ago and will compete in the national tournament in Green Bay, Wisconsin later this month. Zidek was named Coach of the Year in the AMCC for leading the Bearcats to the AMCC Championship.
BELMONT ABBEY AT A GLANCE
Belmont Abbey is making their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2026. The Crusaders have captured the Conference Carolina's automatic NCAA Tournament bid in each of the last two seasons. In each of the last two years, The Abbey has won its first-round match before dropping the next two matches in the double-elimination format. Last season, Belmont Abbey defeated Prairie View A&M, while they defeated Alabama State in 2024, both of which took place in the Arlington, Texas regional bracket. The Abbey has placed in the top-five in five tournaments this season, including winning the Conference Carolina's Conference Championship Tournament.
TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE
The Bearcats and Belmont Abbey will compete in a single elimination mega match on Thursday, April 2 at 9 a.m. with the winner advancing to the regional round (double-elimination mega match) on Friday, April 3. The winner of SVC-Belmont will take on the third ranked team in the country, Arkansas State, who has compiled a 77-34 overall record this season.
