Reading, Pa. - The Daemen College women's bowling team knocked down enough pins to advance past the opening day of the 2016 East Coast Conference Championship which opened today at Hiester Lanes.  The event marks the first-ever ECC championship in the sport of women's bowling.

Daemen struggled through round robin action today, ending up with the No. 6 seed as play shifted to double-elimination tournament format.  After being swept 4-0 in a Baker style best-of-seven series against third-seeded Adelphi University, coach Jennifer Kinyon's squad stayed alive by winning an elimination match vs. fifth-seeded Molloy College.  The Wildcats swept the Baker style best-of-seven, 4-0, to advance into the second day of the tournament where they'll face fourth-seeded Felician College with the winner earning a spot in the tournament's final four.

The Wildcats wound up with the No. 6 seed after going 0-5 in round robin play.  Daemen suffered defeats to Adelphi (1032-655), tournament host Kutztown University (860-760), Franklin Pierce University (895-659), Molloy (701-650) and Felician (817-717).

Kutztown and Franklin Pierce earned the top two seeds, respectively, and were each awarded byes into the tournament semifinals.  They were joined by Adelphi who advanced by defeating Felician before today's action wound down.

Daemen's defeat of Molloy snapped a nine-match slide, and today's results move Daemen to 14-30 overall this season.

The Wildcats were paced in today's round robin matches (traditional team style) by freshman Jess Cunningham (Watervliet, N.Y./Watervliet) with an average of 173.6.  Her game of 207 against Kutztown represented Daemen's individual high-water mark of the day.

Kaitlyn O'Hara (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) was next with a 153.4 average, while Julie Mitchell (Alden, N.Y./Alden), Cassandra Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y./MSTP Seneca) and Hayle Scanlan (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) rounded out the Wildcats' lineup today.  Mitchell was the best of the final trio with a 123.4 average.