SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. - - The Wilmington University bowling team dropped a pair of matches on day one of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships on Friday at Pike Lanes, ending its 2024-25 season.
MATCH 1 vs. No. 2 CALDWELL
The No. 3 Wildcats had a chance against the higher seeded Cougars to start the postseason tournament. Caldwell took the mega-match, 2-0, but in a pair of tightly contested games.
The Cougars took the Traditional Match from the Wildcats, 855-842, to take a 1-0 lead. Logan Brown led the match with a 200 while Miranda Dudas finished with a 183. Both Genna Closs and Sydney Jones had games of 167 while Alexa Pacheco rounded out the Wildcats with a 131. Caldwell was led by two matches of 181, a 171, a 167, and a 155 to beat the Wildcats by 13 pins.
The Cougars took another close match in the Baker format, 932-904, to win the match, 2-0. The Wildcats held the lead through the first three games of the Baker match, leading 592-568. But a 59-pin swing gave the Cougars the lead, as they won game four, 194-135, to take a 762-727 lead. The Wildcats won game five, 177-170, but it wasn't enough to make the full come back.
MATCH 2 vs. No. 4 DOMINICAN:
In the elimination game, the fourth seeded Chargers took both games to win the mega-match, 2-0. They won the traditional match, 975-825, before holding off a Wilmington comeback to win the Baker match, 881-863.
Logan Brown led the Wildcats again in the traditional match, bowling a 191. Miranda Dudas finished with a 185 while both Genna Closs and Sydney Jones bowled games of 177. Alexis Pacheco added a 95 to complete the 825-team score.
The Wildcats won game three of the Baker match to be within 13 pins of the Chargers, 527-514. They then turned the match around with a 181-158 win in game four, taking a 10-pin lead, 695-685, heading into the final game. But the Chargers bounced back and won the fifth game, 196-168, to take the Baker match, 881-863.
Felician won both matches on Saturday to head into the championship match on Sunday. Dominican and Caldwell will play an elimination match on Sunday morning in the CACC Tournament Semifinal.