CORAM, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's bowling team opened play at the East Coast Conference Championship today. The three-day event is being hosted by Adelphi University at Coram Country Lanes.
Daemen is one of 13 teams in the tournament field and will be seeking the first ECC title in program history. The Wildcats advanced to the final round in 2021, but fell to rival Roberts Wesleyan College.
The tournament opened with five rounds of Baker format matches today, as teams competed in a round-robin style for seeding purposes. Daemen drew a bye in the opening round and rolled a 973. Daemen then went unbeaten during its four head-to-head matches. The Wildcats opened head-to-head play with a 980–927 victory over cross-town rival D'Youville University and followed up with a 978–800 win over Molloy College. The Wildcats then improved to 3-0 on the day following a 933–902 over rival Roberts Wesleyan.
Daemen then capped the day with an impressive 1,015–803 win over nationally-ranked Adelphi. The teams entered the match as the only two undefeated teams during the day. It marked the fifth time this season the Wildcats have eclipsed the 1,000 pin mark during a match. It also marked Daemen's first-ever victory over the Panthers, who are ranked sixth in the most recent National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Division II/III Poll. The Wildcats are ranked 14th in the same poll, Daemen's first-ever appearance in the NTCA poll.
With a total pinfall of 4,879 (195.2 average) in round robin play, the Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye as the tournament shifts to the double elimination format. Additional first-round byes went to second-seeded Wilmington University (4,783 pins), third-seeded Mercyhurst University (4,707 pins) and fourth-seeded Adelphi (4,691 pins). Daemen will open double-elimination play tomorrow morning when they take on either eighth-seeded Bloomfield College or ninth-seeded D'Youville.
Daemen, which has already set a program record for most wins in a season, now stands at 53-33 on the year. The Wildcats have won eight-straight matches, one shy of the program record for most consecutive wins set during the 2018-19 season. Daemen is 33-11 during February and March and claimed tournament titles last month during the Brother Patrick Lacey Memorial Tournament hosted by St. Vincent College and the Wildcat Division II Invitational hosted by Wilmington.
Daemen's tournament matches will be streamed on the team's Facebook page.
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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