CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Short-handed and competing in the first tournament of the year, the Norfolk State bowling team finished third at the three-day Hampton Roads Invitational on Sunday after finishing the qualifying rounds as the top team in the tournament.

After those qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday, NSU entered Sunday's action with the highest pinfall out of the seven teams at 9,336, ahead of eventual tournament champion North Carolina Central at 9,019 pins. The Spartans went 5-1 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday, falling to NC Central by just one pin on the first day and to North Carolina A&T on Saturday.

NSU fell to Bowie State in the best-of-seven bracket finals on Sunday, 4-3, after receiving a bye in the first round. The Spartans took care of Elizabeth City State in five games in the final round for NSU's final third-place finish. NC Central downed Bowie State for the tournament title. A&T defeated Chowan for fifth place, and Virginia State finished seventh after an opening round loss to Chowan.

Senior Chelsea Krall, junior Jessica Overton, and sophomore Thea Aspiras earned spots on the all-tournament team along with players from Elizabeth City State and NC Central. Overton ranked second with a 188.8 average, with Krall and Aspiras at 3-4 with 187.0 and 186.0 averages, respectively.

Freshman Delilah Bethel averaged 162.7 in all six games on Saturday, while freshmen Courtney Brown and Courtney Williford alternated as the fifth bowler in those six games.

After the second day of qualifying play, Elizabeth City State stood in third place behind NSU and NC Central, followed by A&T, Bowie State, Virginia State and Chowan.

NSU started the tournament off strong, posting a 770-585 win over Bowie State, a 701-526 victory against Elizabeth City State and another big win over Virginia State, 681-494. NSU also earned the 'W' over Chowan, 642-532, before their only loss of the day, a 636-635 setback to NC Central. The Spartans wrapped things up with a 681-630 victory against A&T.

Then on Saturday, NSU earned wins over NC Central (899-744) and Elizabeth City State (827-817) before posting the top score of the weekend, a 1,007 pinfall, during their bye match. The Spartans continued to roll with wins over Bowie State (854-713) and Chowan (897-677) before suffering a 769-742 loss to A&T.

NSU will jump right into conference play with the first of three MEAC Southern Divisionals Nov. 12-13 in Greensboro, N.C.