GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 17 Norfolk State bowling team saw its season come to a close as NSU fell in the first round of the MEAC Bowling Championship over the weekend at Gate City Lanes.

Following the opening round on Friday in which seedings were determined, the Spartans went into Saturday's action as the No. 4 seed. NSU, though, lost to No. 5 seed Hampton, 4 games to 1, to drop into the loser's bracket. Still with a chance to advance to the championship match, the Spartans defeated No. 8 seed South Carolina State, 4-2, but succumbed to No. 2 seed, Delaware State, to bring their season to a close.

The Spartans posted a 6-3 record in the first day of action Friday, including 4-0 in team play and 2-3 in the Baker round, to finish 7-5 overall on the weekend. NSU completed the 2010-11 season with a 69-51 overall record, breaking last year's record for wins in a season of 67.

NSU got off to a hot start on Friday, winning four straight in team play as the tournament got underway. NSU earned an 883-754 win over Bethune-Cookman, followed by a victory over Hampton, 850-818. A big win over South Carolina State, 988-819, was followed by another one over UMES, a very narrow 842-836 victory.

Junior Chelsea Krall led the Spartans with a 199 average in those four games, the second-highest average on the weekend. Sophomore Lauren Graupmann posted a 187 average, while senior Tiffany Hunt (177.3), junior Sheila-Marie Smith (164) and freshman Thea Aspiras (163.5) rounded out the scoring for the Spartans. NSU was second overall after those first five games in terms of total pinfall, trailing UMES by 66 pins but holding fort over the third-place team, FAMU, which was 205 pins behind the Hawks.

Later in the day on Friday, NSU struggled in Baker play, dropping the first three matches before rebounding to win the last two. FAMU won the first match by a score of 751-690, and then Morgan State earned a narrow win over the Spartans, 673-661.

Delaware State kept the slide going for NSU, as the Hornets picked up a 771-646 victory. The Spartans easily handled Bethune-Cookman, 673-593, to end the losing streak. In the final Baker match of the day, NSU downed Hampton, 740-724.

NSU totaled 6,973 pins after the first two rounds to earn the No. 4 seed for Saturday. FAMU, with 7,011, and Delaware State, with 7,099 held down the No. 3 and 2 seeds, respectively, behind UMES.

UMES went on to capture the 2011 MEAC title with a win over Morgan State in the championship match.