Rising junior Thea Aspiras of the Norfolk State bowling team was one of 16 bowlers to advance to double elimination match play in the 20-and-under division at the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. The Chesapeake, Va., native was eliminated in the third round of the bracket last Friday at Woodland Bowl.
Aspiras finished 16th out of 64 bowlers after Thursday's last qualifying round with a 198.5 average. She stood just three total pins ahead of the 17th-place bowler to earn the last spot in the double-elimination bracket. There, Aspiras fell in the first round on Friday against the top bowler from qualifying play, Natalie Goodman, 345-316.
Aspiras rebounded to defeat Nicole Trudell in the loser's bracket, 427-344, but saw her tournament come to a close with a 447-386 loss to Danielle McEwan in Round 3.
In addition to missing out on the tournament title, Aspiras also fell short in her quest to earn a spot on Junior Team USA. The event champion and runner-up of the tournament earned an automatic spot on the team, as did the top two finishers from qualifying play. The National Selection Committee also chose two at-large candidates to fill out the six-person USA team.
Aspiras finished 37th last year and sixth in 2010 at the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Junior Gold Championships.
She also earned a second-place finish at the Collegiate Masters July 11-13 in Wickliffe, Ohio. Aspiras had competed for numerous years in the Teen Masters, including a 2008 win in the team championship portion of the event. The 2012 Collegiate Masters marked the second year of the event.
Aspiras earned first-team All-MEAC honors in 2012 for the second straight year and was named the Outstanding Performer at the 2012 MEAC Championship, helping NSU capture its first-ever conference title. She was also named the NSU Female Athlete of the Year in both 2011 and '12.