Bowie State Tops ECSU For CIAA Women’s Bowling Title
March 22, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. – Third seed Bowie State downed defending champion and No. 2 seed Elizabeth City State 4-2 Monday to claim the league crown at the 2010 CIAA Women’s Bowling Championships at AMF University Lanes.
The Lady Bulldogs bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the Lady Vikings in the finals of the double-elimination tournament for its third CIAA crown in five years. Led by tournament MVP Verra Diggs, the Lady Bulldogs won going away 182-147 in the deciding sixth game after bowling two strikes in the first three frames.
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| 2010 CIAA Bowling Champions Bowie State University |
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| All-Tournament Bowling Team |
The championship round was a rematch from last season. The Lady Vikings regrouped to beat the Lady Bulldogs twice for the 2009 CIAA title after the Lady Bulldogs sent them to the elimination bracket.
On Monday, both teams met again in the finals after the Lady Bulldogs knocked the Lady Vikings out of the winner’s bracket. Needing two wins for the title, the Lady Vikings handed the Lady Bulldogs their first loss in the bracket format and force a second match.
The Lady Vikings won the first game in the second match, but the Lady Bulldogs recovered to claim the title. The turning point was the fifth match when Diggs bowled a spare for a 180-175 victory for the Lady Bulldogs.
“Verra Diggs was a big difference on the team,” Lady Bulldogs’ head coach Kenneth Scott said. “The team also gained a year of experience which also made a big difference.”
Diggs was named to the CIAA All-Tournament team along Sasha Thornhill of Johnson C. Smith, Jessica Styers and Akira Turner of Fayetteville State and Tiffany Johnson of ECSU, who was last year’s tournament MVP.
Diggs led all CIAA bowlers with a 203 average in Saturday’s match play. Rebecca Frusciante and Dominique Carroll averaged 184.and 173, respectively, to also spark the Lady Bulldogs.
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| Tournament MVP Verra Diggs - BSU |
Both teams started the day in the winner’s bracket with the Lady Bulldogs beating the Lady Vikings 4-3. In the elimination bracket, top-seed Fayetteville State defeated No. 6 seed Saint Paul’s and No. 4 seed Virginia State downed No. 5 seed Johnson C. Smith by 4-2 scores.
Fayetteville State beat Virginia State 4-2, but Elizabeth City State ousted the FSU 4-1-1 to set up a second and third meeting with Bowie State on the same day. This time, the Lady Bulldogs prevailed for another championship.
“We try to keep it simple,” Scott said about his team’s recent run of success. “We work on fundamentals, physical conditioning and mental preparation. Each year, we realize we need to step it up a little higher. We also get terrific support from [interim athletic director] Arlene Creek, the coaching staff and the whole athletic department.”
