Feb. 3, 2008

JONESBORO, AR - The Sacred Heart University women's bowling team had its best performance of the season with a second-place finish at the Mid-Winter Classic hosted by Arkansas State. The Pioneers were runner up to Maryland- Eastern Shore by 126 pins and 63 pins ahead of third place finisher Fairleigh Dickinson. They also had the best match play record of the 20-team field (14-1) that included 11 of the top 12 ranked teams.

In the four-game baker total pinfall matches, SHU, ranked eighth in the country, started with a win over The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (793-711) then followed that up with an important win over seventh-ranked Arkansas (805-763).

Game three was a 810-687 victory over Grambling State. Match four made program history as the Pioneers defeated two-time national champion Nebraska (743-718). They followed that with another huge victory as they easily defeated reigning national champion Vanderbilt (776-662).

"This was a huge turning point for our team after a couple rough finishes at the end of last semester," said head coach Becky Kregling. "The players have shown the desire to win by finishing up strong late in the match when we are down, which is something we were lacking first semester."

"I am proud of the team's performance. I am not sure everyone understands how amazing we did this weekend. The encouraging thing is that even though we had a fantastic tournament, we still have not reached our potential. Our spare shooting was below average this tournament so we still have room to improve."

The coaches voted freshman Sarah Pelletier Tournament MVP.

The team is 29-2 since the break to bring their overall season record to 50-11 (.819).

After a weekend off, the Pioneers compete at the Morgan State Invitational on February 16-17 in Perry Hall, MD. The field is the largest in NCAA bowling history with 32 teams.

Final Standings  (position, school, total pins, match play)
1. Maryland Eastern Shore	13829	10-4
2. Sacred Heart University	13703	14-1
3. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.	13637	8-7
4. University of Nebraska	13635	11-3
5. Univ. of Central Missouri	13472	12-3
6. Univ. of Minnesota Manketo	13325	11-4
7. Alabama A&M			13204	11-4
8. Arkansas State University	13000	9-6
9. Vanderbilt University	12997	9-5
10. Delaware State University	12665	7-8