The North Carolina A&T State bowling team will begin its chase for a national championship double when the Aggies make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship at the Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J., April 14-16.
The Aggies will also compete in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championship in Wichita, Kan., April 20-23. They are the defending champions of the ITC, but the NCAA title is the one they covet most.
“The NCAA opportunity is what the girls work for each and every year,’’ said North Carolina A&T State interim coach Linda Grace. “This is what we’ve worked for since we’ve been turning the program around, each year adding better and better players. Our goal always was to reach the NCAA (Championship). We set goals at the beginning of each season, and the first one is the NCAA Championship. This is really an accomplishment.’’
The remainder of the field is made up of No. 1 seed Nebraska, Arkansas State, Vanderbilt, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, McKendree and Central Missouri.
The Aggies’ spot in the field was in serious doubt in the days leading up to the selection of the eight-team field despite the Aggies’ No. 8 national ranking. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship last month after compiling the best record in the conference (19-5) and compiling their third consecutive 70-win season (78-39).
“It was always in the back of our minds,’’ Grace said of the possibility of the Aggies being left out of the field. “We knew we had done well during the season. We chose tournaments that were going to push us and help us in the long run. Winning the Stephen F. Austin tournament (in February) set us up and gave us a better opportunity.’’
On the negative side, the Aggies’ so-so showings in the Music City Classic and MEAC Championship and James Williams’ dismissal as head coach at the beginning of March cast doubt on their place in the NCAA field.
“We were starting to worry where we would fall,’’ Grace said. “We were shocked (to be selected).”
Grace had been Williams’ assistant for six seasons and had no previous head coaching experience when she was named interim coach on March 2.
She had to hit the ground running since the Aggies still had regular season matches as well as the conference championship remaining. As assistant coach, she was responsible for discipline, recruiting and taking care of the team’s needs. She acknowledges that the transition from being an assistant is still a work in process.
“I’m still absorbing everything,’’ she said. “James Williams was an awesome head coach, and for the last six years we were a complete team. I learned a lot of the things that he does and what he wants and expects of the team. The shock of being thrown into it has worn off. We’ve settled down. I feel more comfortable going into (the NCAA Championship). I feel I can handle it.’’
As an assistant, Grace only coached during practices. Williams did all of the coaching during matches. She says the biggest challenge for the team has been and continues to be team members not being accustomed to hearing her speak.
“I’m not the voice of the team,’’ she said. “We had our roles and the girls were not used to hearing me. We’ve learned to communicate and trust each other a little bit more. As we have gone along, they have become more and more comfortable with the change. The biggest challenge has been to gain their trust and for them to know I’m going to lead them the right way.’’
Grace is confident the Aggies will do well in their maiden NCAA Championship voyage because of the experience they gained last year while winning the ITC title. Five members of that championship squad are on this year’s team, including junior McKenzie Robinson, who threw the winning strike against Robert Morris, senior Emily Strombeck, a two-time MEAC Player of the Year and former MEAC Rookie of the Year, junior Kristin Shinn, a three-year starter, senior Brianna Jackson and sophomore Kori Smith.
“Winning the ITC helps,’’ Grace said. “The girls have been in pressure situations; they have been under the lights. They know what shots need to be made at crucial times. Their experience is a definite advantage.’’
Grace says one of the Aggies’ greatest strengths is having had a number of different bowlers step up and make big shots during the season.
“The key to our success is we have had a complete team, and they’ve each contributed,’’ she said. “Learning to trust and believe in each other has been a major part of our success.’’
What is the key to their success in the NCAA Championship as well as the ITC?
“There are several keys things we need to be prepared for,’’ Grace says. “We have to be patient. We can’t over-judge and over-analyze our ball reactions and what we’re doing. We have to make the spares. Spares are the key things. We struggled with that. A lot of teams struggle with that. We miss way too many spares. We’re preparing. We’re going to change some things up and do some things different and see how far that takes us.”
The Aggies open up play in the NCAA Championship on Thursday, April 14 with qualifying rounds in which each team bowls one five-person regular team game against each of the other seven participating teams. Teams will be seeded for bracket play based on their win-loss record during the qualifying rounds. At the conclusion of the qualifying rounds, teams will then compete in best-of-seven Baker matches in the double-elimination tournament.