EAST NORRITON, Pa. - - The Wilmington University bowling team fought off two elimination matches on Saturday at Our Town Alley to advance to Championship Sunday at the 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship.
The Wildcats stayed alive with a 2-0 mega-match win against No. 6 Holy Family and then another 2-0 mega-match win against No. 3 Bloomfield.
MATCH 1 vs. HOLY FAMILY:
The CACC Rookie of the Year nearly bowled a perfect game to lead the Wildcats over the Tigers, 2-0. She bowled 10 consecutive strikes to start the team scoring match, but the 10-pin wouldn't fall on the 11th bowl, as she picked up the spare to bowl a 289.
Henry was accompanied by KC Miller and Desiree Dent with 200 games in the team scoring match, as Miller finished with a 226 and Dent bowled a 216. Genna Closs scored a 182 while Sydney Jones rounded out the Wildcats with a 149.
The Wildcats won the team scoring match, 1062-657, to take a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats kept the momentum rolling into the Baker match, sweeping the match against th Tigers, 2-0, with a 973-706 win.
Genna Closs bowled a 225 in the five Baker matches to lead the Wildcats while Carolece Henry bowled a 194 with Desiree Dent adding a 193. KC Miller bowled a 191 in the five Baker matches while Sydney Jones finished with a 170.
MATCH 2 vs. BLOOMFIELD:
KC Miller led the Wildcats in the second match of the day, not wanting her season to come to a close. She helped the Wildcats to a 1081-1066 win in the team scoring and then a 1095-876 win in the Baker match to defeat Bloomfield, 2-0, and advance to Sunday with three teams remaining.
KC Miller bowled a 267 in the team scoring against the Bears, leading the Wildcats to the narrow 15-pin victory. Carolece Henry stayed in rhythm and bowled a 246 while Sydney Jones picked it up and added a 202 in the Traditional match. Desiree Dent bowled a 189 while Genna Closs added a 177 to help the Wildcats to a 1-0 lead.
Four of the Wildcats bowled a 200-match in the five Baker games, led by Desiree Dent's 238. KC Miller remained red-hot with a 236 while Genna Closs added a 233. Carolece Henry scored a 2-5 while Sydney Jones bowled a 183 to finish with a weekend's best team score of 1095.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats move on to Sunday in the double-elimination bracket and now need to win three mega-matches on Sunday in order to claim the inaugural CACC Championship. The top seeded Wildcats will first face No. 2 Chestnut Hill on Sunday morning.