SINKING SPRING, PA – No. 1 Kutztown defeated No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan, 2-1, in the East Coast Conference Women's Bowling Championship Final at Bowlero Berks Lanes in Sinking Spring, PA on Sunday afternoon. With their first ECC Women’s Bowling Championship title in program history, the Golden Bears have earned the conference’s automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Championship.
FINAL RESULTS
The No. 5 Redhawks eliminated No. 4 Molloy, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon and No. 3 Bryant, 4-3, on Sunday morning to earn a spot in their second-ever ECC Final and first since winning it all in 2021. The No. 1 Golden Bears went 3-0 on Saturday with wins over No. 8 Saint Anselm, No. 4 Molloy, and No. 3 Bryant to clinch their spot in the ECC Final for just the second time in program history and first since the inaugural season of ECC Women's Bowling, in 2016.
The Golden Bears and Redhawks then squared off in a best-of-three Megamatch format to determine the ECC Champion.
Roberts Wesleyan took the first point after winning the team traditional format, in which all five bowlers rolled the full 10 frames, by a score of 972-919.
The All-ECC pair of Third Team selection Kaylee Stephens (237) and Second Team pick Amelia Ponto (223) topped 200 while Abigail Barnard (180), Angelica Poleini (167), and Rebecca Spry (165) rounded out the Redhawks’ scoring.
On the other side, ECC Rookie of the Year and All-ECC First Teamer Kamryn Brenneman (211) and All-ECC Second Team honoree Megan Hanaway (210) led the Golden Bears.
Kutztown equalized by winning the Baker total pinfall portion of the match, 1,021-923. Four of Kutztown’s five bowlers topped 200 on efforts from ECC Bowler of the Year Chloe Sromovski (224), Brenneman (211), Hanaway (209), and Sydney Snyder (202; All-ECC Second Team pick Shelby Wunch added a 175.
For Roberts Wesleyan, Poleini led the way with a 201.
That set up a winner-take-all Baker best-of-seven match.
Roberts Wesleyan won the first match, 174-146, but Kutztown responded with two consecutive wins, 236-155 and 214-189, to take a 2-1 lead. The teams then tied, 192-192, to give the Golden Bears a one-point edge heading into the fifth match.
Kutztown won the fifth match, 175-152, to go ahead 3.5-1.5 before the Redhawks earned a 212-191 win in the sixth match to close their deficit, 3.5-2.5.
However, Kutztown earned the clinching point with a 192-190, seventh-match win as ECC Bowler of the Year Sromovski took home the championship point for the Golden Bears.
By claiming the conference title, the Redhawks will advance to the NCAA Championship via the ECC's automatic bid. The NCAA Championship will take place from April 11-12 at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas, NV. The bracket for the championship will be announced this week on www.ncaa.com.