LOCKPORT, Ill. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Women’s Bowling Championship Tournament came to an end with No. 1 seed McKendree University claiming its third-consecutive league crown. The Bearcats took down the third-seeded Newman University Sunday afternoon at Strike N Spare II in Lockport, Ill.
The three-day event featured double-elimination action, with each match beginning with a Traditional single-game total, followed by a five-game Baker format total, and then a best-of-seven Baker format, if necessary.
MATCH ELEVEN (8:30 AM CT)
No. 3 NEWMAN (971, 975) def. No. 2 MARYVILLE (937, 945), 2-0
Both legs of this matchup proved to be tight, as Newman and Maryville battled for a spot in the Championship. In Traditional play, the Jets were given a massive boost from freshman Kensley Morris, who rolled a 265 game to help Newman to a 34-pin victory. Newman jumped out to a 46-pin advantage in the first two Baker games, but Maryville was able to narrow the gap to just 20 after three. The Jets were able to weather the storm, however, taking the section by 30 pins and claiming a Championship match berth.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (1:30 PM CT)
No. 1 MCKENDREE (1114, 1103) def. No. 3 NEWMAN (896, 891), 2-0
McKendree put on a bowling clinic in the afternoon, amassing 2,217 pins between Traditional and Baker. Traditional play saw the Bearcats average 222.8, led by Rebecca Hagerman’s monstrous 288 game. The Baker portion was the same story for McKendree, posting a 220.6 average and besting Newman by 212 pins.
With Sunday's victory, the No. 1-ranked Bearcats earned the GLVC's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Women's Collegiate Bowling Championships, which are scheduled to begin at four pre-determined regional sites (Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh, Pa., Arlington, Texas and Lansing, Mich.) on April 7-8, with the National Championships slated for April 14-15 at South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The NCAA will unveil the 17 teams selected for the NCAA Tournament online at
NCAA.com at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 29.
The Bearcats, who have two NCAA National titles (2022, 2017) under their belt, will be making their seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament this season.