EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. - - The Wilmington University bowling team closed out he 2019 regular season with a 10th place finish at the Haw Flight Invite hosted by Monmouth University, going up against a numerous amount of nationally ranked opponents in the three-day tournament.
Friday started with five Baker Matches for the Wildcats, where they went 2-3 overall, ranking 13th out of the 18 teams in the tournament. They knocked down 4,475 total pins on the day, including the second most in a single Baker Match in program history.
In the second match of the day, the Wildcats defeated No. 8 Fairleigh Dickinson, 1,002-960, marking it just the second time in program history that the Wildcats broke the century mark in a Baker Match. They also defeated #22 Monmouth on Friday, 876-870.
The team moved up to 10th overall after five Traditional Matches on Saturday, knocking down 4,570 total pins and again going 2-3 in head-to-head matches. The Wildcats defeated Morgan State, 873-860, and St. Francis (N.Y.) in the final match of the day, 907-848.
Individually, the Wildcats were led by Bailey Peters' 16th place finish. She knocked down the fifth most pins in a five-game traditional series in program history, totaling 955 pins for a 191.00 average. She had a day's high 211 against No. 12 Delaware State. She finished her day with scores of 165, 191, 196, 211, and 192.
Rachel Hirst wasn't far behind Peters, finishing 18th overall with a total pinfall score of 949 (189.80 average). She had a day's high 199 against Morgan State, finishing the day with scores of 193, 168, 199, 195, and 194.
Malia Stout finished 31st overall with a pinfall total of 911, bowling a day's high 204 against Morgan State. She finished with a 182.20 average in five matches. Jocelyn Hood finished 48th overall with a five-match total of 846, bowling a day's high 187 against Morgan State. She finished with a 169.20 average.
Clare Chaffer bowled in three matches on Saturday, bowling a day's high 224 against No. 12 Delaware State. She also bowled a 214 in the final match against St. Francis (N.Y.). Sinoda Cook bowled games of 177 and 147 on Saturday as well, rounding out the Wildcats scoring.
On Sunday, the Wildcats faced off against No. 17 LIU Brooklyn in the first Bracket Match, falling, 4-1. They dropped down to play #22 Monmouth, coming out of the gates to win the first three games. They closed off the Hawks in game five, 171-161, 4-1. Sunday finished with a tough match against No. 25 Youngstown State, taking games two, three, and four to jump up on the Penguins, 3-1. But Youngstown State came back to win games five, six, and seven to steal the victory from the Wildcats. Game six was a score of 142-141.
Second ranked Vanderbilt won the Hawk Flight Invite, defeating No. 5 Sam Houston State in the championship match on Sunday.
The Wildcats head to the postseason for their second crack at the East Coast Conference Championship. The ECC Tournament is a three-day event, slated to begin on Friday, March 22, at Hiester Lanes in Reading, Pennsylvania.