Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University bowling team opened play in the 2024 NCAA Championship Friday at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes, opening with a 2-1 victory over No. 15 Maryland Eastern Shore before falling to No. 1 Jacksonville State, 2-1. The Dukes have compiled an overall record of 69-33 (.676) during the 2023-24 season.
NO. 15 UMES
The Hawks opened the mega match with an 897-857 win in traditional play to grab a 1-0 lead. Leading the way individually for Duquesne was junior
Morgan Brookover, who finished with four strikes as well as four nine-pin spares to finish with a score of 202. Senior
Shannon Small added five strikes in traditional play against UMES, while senior
Brenna Gleim finished with a 197. The Dukes rallied in baker play, earning a 951-918 win in total pinfall to force a game three. Duquesne opened with a 191-181 victory in game one of baker competition and took control in game two, posting a 237-139 triumph in grabbing a 108-pin advantage. UMES won game three, 203-167, but the Dukes solidified the win in game four thanks to a 196-187 victory.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
In the best-of-seven baker match, Duquesne opened with a 203-191 win and followed that with a 190-163 triumph to grab an early 2-0 cushion. UMES won game three, 196-193, before the Dukes closed out the Hawks with wins in games four (190-155) and five (182-173) to win the series, 4-1, and the match, 2-1. In games one and three Duquesne capitalized the win with three strikes in the 10th frame, while overall in the final frame the Dukes finished with seven.
QUOTABLE
"We've had a habit lately of having some slow starts, but our team is confident and, you know, we just kind of shake it off and know we can come back from that," head coach
Jody Fetterhoff said. "I'm really proud of them for how they responded. Sometimes you have to hit the bottom to make changes. They focused and stuck together. That's how this team has been all season. No road is easy, but it's a little easier to get that first win."
NO. 1 JACKSONVILLE STATE
For the second time in as many matches Friday the Dukes fell behind early, dropping a 988-865 decision in traditional play to the Gamecocks, and for the second time in as many matches Duquesne rallied. The burst started in game one of baker play as the Dukes posted strikes in four of the first five frames en route to a 219-129 victory. Duquesne also earned a 180-173 win in game two before JSU grabbed a five-pin lead thanks to a 228-140 triumph in game three. The Dukes responded again, earning a 203-169 win in game four before forcing a game three for the second time Friday with a 256-208 win in game five. The score in game five for Duquesne marked the highest score of any of the four participants in the opening day of action of the Pittsburgh regional and was bolstered by strikes in eight of the first nine frames. The Dukes ended with a 991-914 victory to force game three of the mega match.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Gamecocks earned a 182-151 win in game one of the best-of-seven series and slipped past the Dukes in game two, 215-213. Earning a 213-166 triumph in game three, Jacksonville State sealed the win and advanced to the winner's bracket Saturday with a 166-155 win in game four. In traditional play in the opener against JSU, junior
Ranelle Ulanday paced Duquesne with a 205, notching seven strikes, including four consecutive in frames six through nine.
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"We do our best with baker because we feed off of each other's energy," graduate student
Kiearra Saldi said. "We don't like to think of ourselves individually. We think of ourselves as a team and work together as a team. We feed into each other because we know we can rely on each other."
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes Saturday, April 6, for a 9:00 a.m. start against No. 15 UMES in an elimination match. The Hawks defeated Mercyhurst, 2-0, in the first elimination match of the Pittsburgh Regional Friday, posting a 903-887 win in traditional play before winning baker action, 1,025-948.
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