TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tied with North Carolina A&T for the division lead heading into Sunday, the Norfolk State bowling team dropped three of its four matches on the last day of the MEAC Southern Divisional. The Aggies went a perfect 8-0 on the weekend to take the regular season crown and cap the third and final divisional of the season.
The No. 18 Spartans held a two-game lead coming into the tournament, but NSU went 2-2 on Saturday to force the tie in the standings with A&T. Norfolk State finished 16-8 in the MEAC this season, while the Aggies won the title with a 19-5 mark. Bethune-Cookman ended up in third at 12-12.
The tournament, held at the Galimore Lanes and hosted by Florida A&M, saw a gutsy performance from freshman
Yarelis Burgos. Battling injury and having to change her approach, Burgos nevertheless finished with a 200.8 average in four games on Saturday, ranking her sixth among individual players at the divisional.
Sophomore
Briana Gardner posted a 182.5 average in those four traditional games, while senior
Carrie Hickey carded a 180.8 average. Freshman
Alexa Rodriguez (177.8) and sophomore
Meagan Marciano (173) also competed in all four games as well.
The tournament began on Saturday with NSU tallying its second-highest score of the season. The Spartans defeated Florida A&M, 1,028-943, aided in part by a career-high 245 by Burgos and 200 games from Gardner, Hickey and Rodriguez.
NSU fell to Bethune-Cookman in the next game despite 200 games from Burgos and Gardner, 975-958, as well as to North Carolina A&T, 900-793. The Spartans finished out the day by topping Hampton, 880-834.
Norfolk State could not get going on Sunday in Baker action, dropping its first three matches of the day. It included a narrow loss to start, 880-862 against FAMU. The Spartans were soundly defeated by A&T, 912-801, and B-CU, 1,009-889, before rebounding in the last match. There, NSU had its second-best score of the season for a Baker match in a 1,016-817 triumph over Hampton.
FAMU (5-3) and B-CU (4-4) finished second and third, respectively, in the tournament based on record.
NSU will head to New Jersey to take part in the USBC Intercollegiate Team Sectionals, taking place March 12-13 in Stratford, N.J. It will mark the last competition for NSU before the MEAC tournament, which starts on March 24.
