NEW CASTLE, Del. - - Another record-breaking afternoon on the lanes is propelling the Wilmington University bowling team at its own Wildcat DII/DIII Invitational, leading the field of 11 by 468 pins while going 4-1 in Traditional Matches on Saturday at Bowlerama.
Back-to-back 1,000-pin matches started an excellent day for the Wildcats, as they now lead Chestnut Hill, 9,818 to 9,350, and head in the Baker Bracket format on Sunday in first place.
The Wildcats didn't need to wait long to break a record on Saturday, setting a new Traditional Match team total in the day's first match against New Jersey City. All five bowlers finished with a 200-game, totaling a record 1,102 pins in the win. The previous record was 1,021 pinfall against Coppin State earlier this year at the Virginia Union Invitational.
Well now that previous record is the third most, as the Wildcats came back out and bowled a 1,069-match against Caldwell, moving to 2-0 on the day. The momentum carried over into a 980-847 victory against Mercyhurst, before the Wildcats suffered their only setback of the day, 885-881, to Molloy. The Wildcats finished the day strong, defeating Medaille, 991-906, in the last match. The 991-team total was the fifth most in a match in program history, meaning the Wildcats collected the top two, and the fifth best match totals in one day.
Individually, the Wildcats were led by a pair of All-Tournament Team members in CC Riojas and Rachel Hirst, as they also set records with their performances.
CC Riojas placed second overall in the tournament, setting a new Wilmington bowling record with a 1,119 five-match total, good enough for a 223.80 average. She was only five pins from earning Tournament MVP honors. She started the day with a 235 against New Jersey City, but had her best round of the day against Caldwell with a 254, tied for the fourth best match in program history. She had four 200+ matches on the day, bowling a 231 against Medaille and a 203 against Molloy as well. Her lowest match was a 196 against Mercyhurst.
Rachel Hirst placed fifth overall with what would have been a new Wilmington record if it hadn't been for Riojas on the same day. Hirst bowled a 1,046 five match total, good enough for a 209.20 average. She had three 200+ matches, including a day's high 227 against Mercyhurst. She also bowled games of 226 and 202, adding in a 199 and a 192 for good measure.
Freshman KC Miller placed 12th overall with a new personal best 992, the fifth best five-match total in program history. She bowled a 198.40 average, including a new personal best 246 in the final match of the day against Medaille. She also bowled games of 227 and 205, adding in a 183 and a 131 on the day.
Junior Bailey Peters had the best individual match of the day, placing 14th overall with a 986 for a 197.20 average. She tied the program's second best mark with a personal best 256 in the record breaking win over New Jersey City. She also had a 208 against Mercyhurst and a 199 against Molloy.
Malia Stout rounded out the Wildcats on the leaderboard with a 29th place finish, bowling an 880 for a 176.00 average. She had a day's high 208 against Caldwell, while also bowling a 204 in the opener against New Jersey City.
Mercyhurst's Haley Youker edged CC Riojas for the Tournament MVP honors with a 1,124 pinfall, going for a 224.80 average. She had games of 212, 217, 278, 237, and 180. Molloy rounds out the top three on the leaderboard heading into Bracket Play.
The Wildcats will face second seeded Chestnut Hill in the opening round, with the winner going straight to the Championship Match. Sunday will be a best out of seven Baker style match.