HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Bryant University women’s bowling team captured its first East Coast Conference championship on Sunday, defeating third-seeded Molloy 2-0 in the MegaMatch to capture the 2026 championship.

The Bulldogs, seeded first, received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Molloy advanced to the championship match earlier in the morning by defeating second-seeded Kutztown 2-1 in a MegaMatch. A MegaMatch is a traditional 5-person game, a Baker Total Pinfall, and a Best-of-7 Baker.

Match 5 – Molloy 2, Kutztown 1
Molloy took the early 1-0 lead in the match by defeating Kutztown by a slim 954-935 margin in the traditional 5-person game. Molloy was paced by Ava Mazella who had 208, followed by Emily Kulkarni who bowled a 2-2. Michaela Palumbo netted a 183, with Samantha Felice getting a 282 and Kaitlyn Warren throwing a 179.

For Kutztown, Madilyn Bogovich had a 209, with Isabella Hopper getting a 208. Kamryn Brenneman threw a 203, followed by Shelby Wunch with a 165 and Sydney Snyder netting a 150.

In the Baker Total Pinfall, Kutztown won through five games with a 964-939 margin. Molloy threw a 202 in the first game, with Kutztown right behind with a 201. After the two teams both threw a 199 in game two, Molloy threw a 190 in game three, with Kutztown bowling a 188. In game four, Molloy threw a 192 to Kutztown’s 186, however, Kutztown threw a 190 in game five to Molloy’s 156.

Forcing the best-of-7, Molloy won 4-2. Kutztown won the opening game 192-169, with Molloy leveling the game at 1-all with a 176-149 victory in game two. In game three, Molloy defeated Kutztown 208-192, with Kutztown winning game four 222-201. Molloy took the MegaMatch, winning game five (229-219) and game six (244-211).

Match 6 – Bryant 2, Molloy 0
Bryant took the opening traditional 5-person game, scoring 999 to Molloy’s 979. Bryant was paced by a 247 from Madison Lewis, while Madison Damer had a 243. Olivia Hillman had a 208, followed by Laura Clark with a 162 and Hayden Smith with a 139.

Molloy got a 214 from Michaela Palumbo, and a 207 from Emily Kulkarni. Ava Mazella had a 188, followed by Ilana Kaplan with a 187. Samantha Felice had a 183.

The Bulldogs sealed the championship with a 1023-833 victory in the Total Pinfall Baker. Bryant won game one 223-182, and game two 190-178. In game three, the Bulldogs were victorious 221-150, followed by a 215-192 victory in game four and a 174-131 triumph in game five.

Prior to the matches on Saturday, Kutztown junior Natalie Conrad was honored as the Elite 20 winner for the Women’s Bowling Championship. The award is modeled after the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the championship site. Conrad boasts a 3.97 GPA as a Elementary Education Pre K-4 maj