SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. - - The Wilmington University women's bowling team's comeback in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship fell just short to top-seeded Caldwell, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Pike Lanes.
The Wildcats were down after the team-scoring match but fought back to win the Baker total pinfall match to force the best-of-seven series. Down 3-1, the Wildcats fought back to force a game seven, but Caldwell regrouped to win the final Baker game and claim its second straight CACC title.
The Wildcats would have needed to defeat Caldwell in another best-of-seven Baker series to win the Championship, coming from the loser's bracket in the double-elimination tournament.
In the team-scoring match, the Wildcats were led by KC Miller's 203. Sydney Jones rolled a 196 while Eleni Feggulis finished with a 171. Miranda Dudas added a 167 while Logan Brown bowled a 157 to close out the team's 894. But Caldwell had two bowlers over 200, finishing with a 932 to win the opening match.
Needing to win the Baker total pinfall match to stay alive, the Wildcats started with a 27-pin lead after winning the opening game, 182-155. Caldwell got 24 of those pins back with a 211-187 win in game two, but then the Wildcats extended their lead out to 37 pins with a big 157-123 win in game three. Caldwell again made a match of it after game four, closing to within 10 pins heading into the final game. But the Wildcats were able to hold them off, 179-172, to win the total pinfall match, 851-834, to force the best-of-seven series.
Caldwell snuck past the Wildcats in the opener, 180-179, but then the Wildcats were able to tie the match with a 198-184 win in game two. Caldwell won another close on, 178-173, in game three, and then took game four, 187-146, to lead 3-1. But the Wildcats didn't roll over, coming back with a 203-162 win in game five and a 186-145 win in game six to force a game seven. But the Wildcats ran out of gas, falling 203-164 in the final, to drop the match, 2-1.
The Wildcats' Sydney Jones and Eleni Feggulis were named to the CACC Al-Tournament Team for their efforts throughout the three-day event.