Day 2 Bracket

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – The Norfolk State bowling team finished in sixth following the conclusion of the qualifying round of the 2016 MEAC Championship on Friday at the AMF Lanes in Chesapeake.
 
The No. 18-ranked Spartans went 2-3 during the first day of competition and finished with a total pinfall of 4,262. As the No. 6 seed in Saturday's bracket round, NSU will begin by playing No. 3 seed North Carolina A&T. Saturday's action will include Baker play and a double-elimination format. The first matches begin at 9 a.m. with the second round slated for 10:40 a.m.
 
Subsequent rounds will begin at approximately 12:20 and 2 p.m., with the if-necessary matches for each side of the bracket set for 3:40 p.m.
 
Freshman Alexa Rodriguez bowled a 270 in the first game of the day and finished with the highest average among players from all eight teams. She tallied a 212.4 average in five games, approximately 10 pins per game more than the next highest player.
 
Senior Carrie Hickey averaged 187.6 in all five games for the Spartans, while sophomore Briana Gardner rolled a 204 in the third game as part of a 162.4 average. Sophomore Meagan Marciano and freshman Yarelis Burgos each bowled in all five games as well.
 
Rodriguez' career-high 270 helped NSU top Morgan State 986-863 in the first match of the day. Top seed Delaware State defeated the Spartans by a 903-812 score before NSU defeated last year's MEAC champion UMES by an 868-854 margin.
 
NSU closed out the day by falling to Howard, 861-796, and Bethune-Cookman, 882-800. Only a team's pinfall counted toward its seeding for Saturday.
 
In addition to the NSU-North Carolina A&T matchup, No. 2 seed UMES and No. 7 seed Morgan State will also face off on Saturday morning in NSU's half of the bracket. The winner of that side will face the winner of the top half of the bracket in the championship match on Sunday at noon.
 
No. 1 Delaware State will play No. 8 Florida A&M, and No. 4 Howard will go up against No. 5 Bethune-Cookman in the other half of the MEAC Championship bracket.