VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – After falling to No. 9 seed Howard 2-1 in a Mega Match on Thursday afternoon, the Norfolk State bowling team faced off against No. 7 seed Coppin State early Friday morning in an elimination match. However it was the Spartans that got the best of the Eagles 2-0 to eliminate CSU from the 2022 MEAC Championship at Pinboy's at the Beach.
"I would like to thank the NSU athletics administration/staff, the parents, the alumni, and the entire Spartan National for the support during the entire season," said head coach Aundray Darden, "Although the outcome of the season was not what we hoped, the future of Spartan Bowling is bright. Behold!"
Against CSU, Norfolk State had a narrow 635-592 advantage after eight frames in the traditional portion of the Mega Match, but with multiple spares and a strike, the Spartans looked to expand on their lead and the ninth frame did just that. NSU picked up four strikes and spare to extend their lead to 63 pins with just one frame left. With the Eagles leaving more than one open frame, the Spartans capitalized and got multiple strikes and spares in the final frame to win the traditional portion 902-723.
Crystal Brewer led the way for NSU with a 213 while Megan Wheat nearly broke the 200 pin fall total with a 199. Trinity Gray was not far behind with a 191 with Dieonjonai Haupt (155) and Jazmin Esquibel (144) finishing the five bowlers for NSU.
Heading to the Baker Pin Total portion of the matchup the Spartans picked up a 179 and led by 25 after the first game. The second game saw the Eagles take the lead from the Spartans with a 204 to have a 358-318 after two Baker games. The Spartans followed up with a 216 in game three and tied the score up at 534-534.
NSU scored even higher in the fourth game, leaving no frame open with all spares and strikes to jump out to a 46 pin lead going into the final game. CSU outscored the Spartans 174-139, but it was not enough as NSU got the Baker Pin Total win 890-879 to win the Mega Match 2-0 over the Eagles.
In the following round, NSU faced off against No. 6 seed UAB. The Blazers won the traditional matchup portion of the Mega Match and came from behind and, in heartbreak fashion, got a two-point win in the Baker total pin fall portion to eliminate the Spartans.
After just two frames in the traditional matchup against UAB, the Spartans took a 144-126 thanks in part to three strikes for NSU. Three spares and another strike kept the Spartans on top by 38 after three frames. An open frame for the Blazers allowed the Spartans to extend their lead by four more with a 322-280 after four frames. Over the next three frames, UAB cut the NSU lead down to 17 at 577-560 after eight. The Blazers cut the lead to just one after eight frames with the Spartans holding a five pin lead after nine.
A strong 10th frame allowed UAB to come from behind for the 870-805 win in the traditional matchup portion. Brewer led the Spartans with a 202 for her second 200+ game of the championship. Wheat (159), Esquibel (157), Haupt (150), and Gray (137) scored for NSU.
In the Baker Total Pin portion, after just one game the Spartans had a 61 pin lead at 211-150. The Blazers made up ground in the second cutting the lead to just 28 with NSU leading 351-323. After three games, the Spartan lead was down to seven (520-513) and down to five after four Baker games.
The fifth game came down to the final frame where UAB came from behind and picked up a spare on their final bowler to win the Baker Total Pin portion by two pins, 875-873, and the Mega Match 2-0 to eliminate the Spartans from the championship.
