Bowling Finishes Hawk Flight Invite in Seventh Place After Going 1-1 in Bracket Play

File photo of KC Miller, who bowled a 223 in the final traditional match on Sunday at the Hawk Flight Invite. Photo by Tim Shaffer.
File photo of KC Miller, who bowled a 223 in the final traditional match on Sunday at the Hawk Flight Invite. Photo by Tim Shaffer.

HAMILTON, N.J. - - The Wilmington University bowling team defeated St. Francis (N.Y.) to place seventh overall at the Hawk Flight Invite on Sunday, hosted by Monmouth at the Hamilton Lanes.

The day started with the sixth and final traditional contest, as the Wildcats fell to nationally No. 2 Sam Houston State, 1047-952. Freshman KC Miller led the Wildcats with a 223 in the final traditional match, while junior Bailey Peters also bowled a 200. Freshman CC Riojas finished with a 198 while junior Malia Stout added a 173 to her score. Junior Rachel Hirst finished the tournament with a 158 against Sam Houston State.

CC Riojas led the Wildcats with a 1,260 for a 210 average through six games, for 13th place overall. KC Miller finished with a 1,231, moving up a couple spots to 21st with a 205.2 average. Bailey Peters finished in 30th overall with a 1,154 six game total, good enough for a 192.3 average. Rachel Hirst came in 37th overall with a 1,081 (180.2 average) while teammate Malia Stout was right behind her in 38th overall with a 1,075 (179.2 average).

In the first Baker Bracket match, the Wildcats paired up with host No. 22 Monmouth. The Wildcats dropped the first game by two pins and the second game by a single pin, falling behind 2-0. After winning game three, Monmouth won game four to have the match, 3-1. The Wildcats kept things alive with a win in game five, 209-203, and forced a game seven with a 197-162 win. But the host team out-dueled the Wildcats, 230-202, in game seven to win the match, 4-3.

They dropped down to the 7th/8th place pairing, squaring off against St. Francis (N.Y.) in their final match of the tournament. They Wildcats jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, winning 216-199 and 225-185, right away. St. Francis won games three and four to tie the match, 202, but the Wildcats answered with a 248-188 win in game five, and then sealed the deal with a narrow 225-223 win in game six to claim seventh place overall.

Duquesne's Olivia Farwell won MVP honors with bowing a 1,455 in six matches, good enough for a 242.5 average. Duquesne had three earn All-Tournament Team while Mercyhurst and Fairleigh Dickinson individuals rounded out the top five for All-Tournament.

Duquesne also won the tournament, defeating Sam Houston State in the final, 4-3.

The Wildcats host the Northeast Region Round next weekend in the final regular season tournament of the 2019-20 campaign. The two-day tournament will begin Saturday at Bowlerama in New Castle.