NEW CASTLE, Del. - - For the third tournament in a row and the fifth time this year, the Wilmington University bowling team will enter bracket play as the top seed, as the Wildcats lead the Wildcat DII/DIII Invite hosted at Bowlerama after two days.
The Wildcats are 8-2 overall and held a commanding lead after the Baker matches on Friday. Another solid outing during the Traditional matches on Saturday has them in first place with a 10-match total pinfall of 10,166, 159 pins ahead of Emmanuel in second place.
The Wildcats were led by KC Miller's All-Tournament Team performance on Saturday, as three Wildcats collected more than 1,000 pins during the five Traditional matches.
The tournament started Friday with the Wildcats going 4-1 in Baker matches. They started strong with three straight 1,000-pin games, defeating Emmanuel, 1041-927, D'Youville, 1098-825, and Felician, 1009-926. They Also beat Daemen, 982-841, before ending the day with a loss to Mercyhurst, 998-973. The Wildcats held a 268 pin lead over Emmanuel after the Baker matches, holding a 204.1 per game average.
Saturday started with a new program record, defeating Dominican, 1150-688, setting a new Traditional record. They broke the mark of 1,102 pins against New Jersey City in the Wildcat DII/DIII Invite in the 2019-20 season. They then beat Alvernia, 1023-950, to make it back-to-back 1,000 pin matches, and beat Adelphi, 970-877 to start 3-0. They fell to Kutztown, 1013-987, but then bounced back and beat Chestnut Hill, 933-897, to go 4-1 on the day. They Wildcats had the third most pins on Saturday, but kept their lead by 159 pins over Emmanuel.
The Wildcats were led by KC Miller's 1,086 five-match total, bowling four games over the 200 mark. She had a day's best 258 against Adelphi but added a 219 against Dominican, a 213 against Alvernia, and a 200 against Kutztown. She posted a final match of 196 against Chestnut Hill to total her 1,086 for a 217.20 average. That is the third best individual performance in program history and a new personal best for KC Miller. She finished fifth overall to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Logan Brown finished eighth overall with a 1,061 total pinfall, averaging a 212.20 per match. She also had four games of 200 or more, led by a day's best 236 against Kutztown. She also had a 230 against Alvernia, a 208 against Chestnut Hill and a 206 against Dominican. She collected a 181 against Adelphi to complete her 1,061.
Eleni Feggulis finished directly behind Brown in ninth place overall with a 1,055 total pinfall for a 211.00 average. She had three matches of 200 or more, bowling a 235 against Dominican, a 232 against Alvernia, and a 221 against Adelphi.
Sydney Jones was the final Wildcat to bowl in all five matches, collecting a 961 to finish in 23rd overall. She bowled a day's best 257 against Dominican and also had a 199 against Chestnut Hill to end the day. She bowled a 192.20 average on Saturday.
Freshman Miranda Dudas bowled a 233 against Dominican to help in the program record while adding a 181 against Alvernia and a 173 against Kutztown. Genna Closs bowled a 154 against Aldephi and finished the day with a 159 against Chestnut Hill.
Kutztown's Chloe Sromovski finished as Tournament MVP with an impressive 1,174 total pinfall, going for a 234.80 average.
The Wildcats start bracket play on Sunday with a match against second place Emmanuel.