NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State bowling team defeated Morgan State in the championship match on Sunday to win the Hampton Roads Invitational in the Spartans' season-opening tournament.
The Spartans entered Sunday as the top seed among the seven teams at the tournament. NSU won five of its six matches on Saturday during traditional play and finished with a pin total of 6,309. Then on Sunday, the Spartans received a bye and topped Virginia State by a 4-1 Baker score. Norfolk State got a measure of revenge and swept Morgan State in the final, 4-0, for the tournament title and a 7-1 overall record for the weekend.
Freshman
Alexa Rodriguez and senior
Carrie Hickey each earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Rodriguez topped all players with a 185.2 average in six games, not including the bye, to earn MVP honors. Hickey, meanwhile, finished second with a 181.7 average. Rodriguez had three games of 194 or better, while Hickey topped 210 in two of her games.
Morgan State's Katherine Clouse, Bowie State's Ashley Wade, and Virginia State's Rebecca Clements also earned all-tournament team accolades. Hampton, Coppin State and Saint Peter's rounded out the tournament participants.
On Sunday, Virginia State won the second game of the best-of-seven series with NSU in the bracket semifinal round to tie the match at 1-1. The Spartans stormed back to win the next three games to set up the final with MSU. There, the Spartans had games of 211, 198, 201 and 195 for the sweep, as Morgan State only got as close as 13 pins in any of those four games.
Virginia State topped Bowie State in the 3-4 matchup, while Hampton swept Coppin State for fifth place. Saint Peter's came in seventh.
On Saturday, NSU opened its 2015-16 season by dropping an 885-793 contest against Morgan State. The Spartans responded by winning their next five matches of the day. It began with an 867-826 defeat of Virginia State, followed by an easy 938-758 victory over Saint Peter's.
Norfolk State edged out Bowie State by an 871-834 score and then finished the day with easier wins over Hampton (954-769) and Coppin State (861-653).
In addition to Rodriguez and Hickey, sophomore
Meagan Marciano posted a 174.3 average in six games for NSU. Freshman
Yarelis Burgos (170.0) and sophomore
Briana Gardner (169.5) rounding out the Spartans' top 5 lineup. Marciano rolled a 214 for her best official game but also had a 233 during the bye. Both Burgos (210) and Gardner (207) also rolled their best games during the bye, although those scores did not count toward their official totals for Saturday.
NSU will not have to leave town for its second tournament of the season. The Spartans will host the MEAC Southern Divisional on Nov. 14-15 at Spartan Lanes inside the Student Services Building on campus.
