Kansas City, Mo. (Apr. 8, 2021) --- Nationally-ranked Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rivals Delaware State and North Carolina A&T battled to the limit before the Aggies prevailed in a thrilling NCAA Tournament regional contest at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes today.
NCA&T, ranked fourth in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 poll and a No. 1 tournament seed, won two of the three tourney formats to advance to the next round, while the No. 12 Hornets are eliminated after suffering their second loss of the tournament.
Delaware State had the upper hand in the match with a 979-913 victory in the traditional format game. Emily Garl (so.) led the way for the Hornets with a season-high 243 total pinfall, while Stefanny Toala (jr.) was second on the team with 236.
Delaware State led North Carolina A&T by 62 pins (596-534) after three games in the Baker Total Pinfall contest, but the Aggies won game four 214-147 to gain the lead. NCA&T evened the match with a 203-189 victory in game five to win the contest by a final score of 951-932.
The match would be decided by the Baker System Match play contest.
The Hornets won the first three games by a combined score of 629-574, but NCA&T squeaked out a 198-195 victory in game four to again stay alive in the match.
The Aggies won games five and six by a combined score of 481-333 to even the contest, and coasted to a 214-146 victory in the decisive seventh game. NCA&T won in total pinfall 1479-1303.
Delaware State was making its third NCAA Tournament appearance. The Hornets also competed in the tourney in 2009 and 2010.