CORAM, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's bowling team saw its hopes for a first-ever East Coast Conference championship come to an end this afternoon during day-two action of the 2022 ECC Women's Bowling Championships. The three-day event is being hosted by Adelphi University at Coram Country Lanes.
Daemen was one of 13 teams in the tournament field and entered today looking to build off the momentum it gained yesterday while going undefeated and posting a tournament-best total pinball of 4,879 during the round robin portion. Yesterday's effort earned the Wildcats the No. 1 seed in the today's double elimination portion.
Daemen opened today with a 4-3 win (Baker format) over eighth-seeded Bloomfield College. Daemen trailed 3-2 in the match, but rallied with a 201-134 win in game six and a 222-204 win in game seven. It marked Daemen's ninth consecutive victory, which tied the program record for most consecutive wins set during the 2018-19 season.
The Wildcats then squared off against fourth-seeded Adelphi in a battle of nationally-ranked teams. The Panthers are ranked sixth in the most recent National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Division II/III Poll, while the Wildcats are ranked 14th in the same poll—Daemen's first-ever appearance in the NTCA poll. Adelphi posted a 4-2 win over Chestnut Hill College in its first match today. Daemen posted its first-ever win over Adelphi during yesterday's round robin play, but the Panthers answered with 4-2 win today. The Panthers won the first two games (192-161, 211-193), before the Wildcats answered with a 227-215 win in game three. The teams split the next two games before Adelphi earned the win with a 215-161 win in game six. The loss meant Daemen needed to post two more wins in order to stay alive and advance to "Championship Sunday".
Daemen rebounded from the Adelphi loss with a solid 4-2 win over another nationally-ranked opponent—the 13th-ranked Cougars of Caldwell University. Caldwell took game one, 198-164, before the Wildcats answered with back-to-back wins (215-190, 242-190). The Cougars evened the match at 2-2 with a 230-178 win in game four, before Daemen regained the lead following a close 208-204 win in game five. The Wildcats secured the win with a 191-170 win in game six.
Up next was a rematch with Bloomfield, with the winner advancing to "Championship Sunday". Bloomfield edged the Wildcats in game one, 177-170, before Daemen answered with a strong 204-165 win in game two and then took the lead following a 201-190 win in game three. Bloomfield then rolled three consecutive games in the 200's to earn the win. The Bears rolled a 211-184 win in game four, a 210-199 win in game five and closed out the match with a 240-194 win in game six.
Daemen, which had already set a program record for most wins in a season, closes out the year with a record of 55-35. The Wildcats went 35-13 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 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.
Follow the Daemen College women's bowling program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenBowling.
