NCAA Bowling selection show link:
https://www.ncaa.com/news/bowling/article/2021-03-31/national-collegiate-womens-bowling-championship-field-announced
Dover, Del. (Mar. 31, 2021) --- Delaware State bowling team will be part of the 16-team field vying for the 2021 NCAA women's championship. The Hornets were one of 10 teams to receive at-large bids to the championship tournament next weekend (Apr. 7-10) in Kansas City, Mo.
This will be Delaware State's third NCAA Tournament appearance. The Hornets also competed for the national championship in 2009 and 2010. The 2009 DSU team advanced to the NCAA Tournament final four before falling to eventual champion Nebraska in the double-elimination tourney.
The Hornets entered the 2009 and '10 NCAAs as champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
This is the first time that DSU has earned a tourney bid as an at-large participant.
The MEAC is one of six conferences with automatic NCAA Tournament bids. North Carolina A&T, the 2021 MEAC champ, is the overall No. 3 seed in this year's NCAA field.
The Hornets are in the tournament's Region 3 bracket, which is headed by North Carolina A&T. DSU will face off against Arkansas State in their tournament opener.
The winners of each regional will advance to the NCAA championship. The championship matches will be played April 9-10. Both regional and championship rounds will be played at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes. The University of Central Missouri and Kansas City Sports Commission are the hosts.
The regional and championship brackets will be double-elimination, with each round consisting of a best-of-three match that includes the use of three team game formats- baker total pin fall, five-person team match and a best-of-seven baker match play. Regional competition will conclude with one team from each regional bracket advancing to compete in the championship.
The champion will be determined using a best-of-seven baker match play. The championship final will air at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 on ESPNU.
All matches will stream live on
NCAA.com.
Delaware State was ranked 12
th in the most recent National Tenpin Coaches Association monthly poll.
"It's a major plus for our program and the MEAC to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament," said Delaware State head coach
Elysia Current. "Like all teams, our ladies have worked extremely hard under challenging circumstances this year. It's a great reward for their hard work to have this opportunity to compete with the best teams in the country for a national championship."
This will be Current's first NCAA appearance as a head coach. As a collegian, she helped lead Wichita State to the Intercollegiate Team National Championship in 2007 and a second place finish in 2008.
Current coached Delaware State to the 2016 MEAC Championship, but there were no automatic NCAA Tournament berths at the time, and the Hornets did not receive a bid to the national tourney.