Indianapolis - Wilmington will take on the perennial title contender and defending National Champion, Nebraska, in the NCAA Women's Bowling Championship as the tournament's bracket was unveiled on Wednesday evening.
Wilmington makes its NCAA Championship debut after claiming the East Coast Conference Championship and the league's automatic bid with a 2-0 victory over Adelphi on March 27.
The Wildcats (63-47), one of 16 teams vying for a National Championship, were slotted in the Rochester, New York regional hosted by fellow ECC member, Roberts Wesleyan. Wilmington will open the double-elimination tournament against No. 2 overall seed, Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers are six-time National Champions and have also finished as the national runner-up on four other occasions. This season, the Huskers make their 17th straight NCAA appearance on the heels of an 82-27 record that earned them the No. 2 ranking in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top-25 poll.
The other teams joining the Wildcats and Cornhuskers in Upstate New York will be Fairleigh Dickinson (68-35) and Sacred Heart (41-39). Wilmington has previously matched up with both the Knights and the Pioneers this season. They dropped two matches to FDU and went 1-2 against Sacred Heart.
Regional play will take place on April 8 and 9. Each match will be in the mega match format that includes five-person traditional, Baker total pinfall, and Baker best-of-seven. If the “if necessary” match is needed to determine the regional champion, the winner will be decided in a Baker best-of-seven format. The regional winners will advance to the finals of the NCAA Women's Bowling Championship, which will take place at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio on April 15 and 16.
To view the NCAA announcement of the championship bracket, click here.
