DESTINATION FLORIDA TOURNAMENT
Oct. 18-20 | Orlando, Fla.
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY OCT. 18 *	SATURDAY OCT. 19^	SUNDAY OCT. 20*
#1 - Daemen vs #13 Tulane	#6 - Daemen vs #4 Vanderbilt	#11 - Daemen vs #2 Arkansas State
#2 - Daemen vs #18 Sacred Heart	#7 - Daemen vs Florida A&M
#3 - Daemen vs #7 Louisiana Tech	#8 - Daemen vs #6 North Carolina A&T
#4 - Daemen vs Wright State	#9 - Daemen vs RV Monmouth
#5 - Daemen vs Emmanuel	#10 - Daemen vs Alabama State

* - BAKER FORMAT | ^ - TRADITIONAL FORMAT

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BACK IN ACTION
The Daemen University women's bowling team readies to compete against 23 other schools as they head south to compete in the Destination Florida Tournament, hosted by Sacred Heart University.
 
LAST TIME OUT
For the second time in three seasons, the Daemen University women's bowling team came home from Erie, Pa. with new hardware after claiming the 2024 Grapevine Classic championship title. The two-day tournament featured seven other teams and was hosted by Penn State Behrend.The Wildcats totaled 9,112 pins while going 9-1 across 10 matches to secure the team title. Saint Vincent, who ranked sixth in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Division II/III preseason poll and received votes in the NTCA Top-25 Poll, finished in second with 9,005 pins and an 8-2 record while D'Youville rounded out the top three with a total pinfall of 8,439 and 7-3 overall record. Along with team honors, junior Mackenzie Hutchins (Wheatfield, N.Y.) was tabbed to the all-tournament team. The third-year bowler appeared in all five matches during the first day of the tournament and posted a team-best average of 189.4 and bowled a 200-or-better (211 vs D'Youville & 219 vs Saint Vincent) in two matches.
 
RANKED TESTS
Seven of the Wildcats 11 opponents they are scheduled face this weekend were either ranked National Tenpin Coaches Association Preseason Coaches' Poll and/or have appeared in a national championship. Daemen will battle #13 Tulane to begin the tournament before facing RV Monmouth, #18 Sacred Heart, #7 Louisiana Tech and #6 North Carolina A&T State University. The Wildcats will also play #4 Vanderbilt who won the NCAA Women's Bowling National Championship in 2007, 2018 and 2023 and have appeared in the final six times. The Cats will face #2 Arkansas State, who has appeared in national championship final four times, in their final scheduled match of the tournament on Sunday, Oct. 20. The Red Wolves appeared in the last two national championship finals, losing 4-3 to Vanderbilt in 2023 and 4-3 to Jacksonville State last year.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK PART TWO
For the second consecutive week, freshman Cassandra Westphal (Spencerport, N.Y.) was named the East Coast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. Westphal is the first member of the Wildcats to earn two-or-more weekly awards in a season since graduate student Mollie Gizicki (Brighton, Mich.) was tabbed the ECC Bowler of the Week twice during the 2022-23 season. At the Grapevine Classisc last weekend, Westphal was one of two bowlers to appear in all five matches during the first day of the tournament. She posted an average of 185.8 and knocked down 200-or-more pins twice (216 vs Pitt-Bradford & 204 vs Penn State Behrend).

WILDCATS IN THE POLLS
The Daemen University women's bowling team was tabbed fourth in the 2024-25 East Coast Conference Women's Bowling Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Sept. 30. It marks the third straight year that the Wildcats were predicted to finish in the top half of the league. It also marks the first time the Wildcats have been tabbed to finish in fourth since the 2018-19 campaign. Bryant University topped the poll with 76 points and seven of nine possible first-place votes. Kutztown University was tabbed second with 66 points and one first-place vote while Molloy University rounded out the top three with 60 points. Daemen was named fourth with 51 points and a first-place vote while local rival Roberts Wesleyan University rounded out the top five with 48 points. D'Youville University (40 points), Adelphi University (30), St. Anselm College (23) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (11) rounded out the remainder of the poll.

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UP NEXT
The Blue and White return to Western New York to compete in the Niagara Brunswick Fall Open, hosted by Niagara University, from Nov. 2 through Nov. 3.

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Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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 women's bowling program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenBowling