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2017-18 SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., April 10)--The McKendree University women's bowling team will be the defending champions when the field of eight teams descends upon Tropicana Bowl in Clayton, Mo., for the 2018 NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship. The three-day event begins Thursday morning with the championship match set for Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m., which will be televised live on ESPNU.

Last April, McKendree broke several barriers in earning the first NCAA championship in any sport for the Bearcats' athletic program. McKendree registered a 4-0 victory over the University of Nebraska in the finals, becoming the first school in the 14-year history of the event to sweep the championship contest. In the process, the Bearcats became the first NCAA Division II institution to claim the women's bowling national championship. McKendree won the title in just its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament field. 

The Bearcats have sat at or near the top of the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) all-division rankings for the entire 2017-18 season. McKendree opened the year ranked No. 1 in the pre-season poll, and currently hold down the No. 2 spot in the final regular-season rankings. The Bearcats are seeded second in the eight-team field that reached the final site. 

This year's event featured a new qualifying format as 10 teams originally earned a spot in the national tournament field. McKendree was joined by Nebraska, Arkansas State University, Vanderbilt University, Sam Houston State University and North Carolina A&T as qualifiers directly to the final site at Tropicana Lanes. Late last week, two opening-round matches were held to determine the seventh and eighth programs to head to St. Louis. Lincoln Memorial University defeated Texas Southern University in one opening-round contest, while St. Francis (Pa.) knocked off Bowie State University in the other. St. Francis earned the No. 7 seed, while Lincoln Memorial grabbed the No. 8 seed.

McKendree holds a record of 91-25 in match play this season. The Bearcats won four in-season tournaments, including three in a row to begin the 2018 calendar year. McKendree won the Mid-Winter Invitational hosted by Arkansas State and the KU Invitational hosted by Kutztown University on consecutive weekends in mid-January before rolling to the title at the Prairie View A&M University Invitational two weeks after the KU win. The Bearcats wrapped up the regular season by winning the Music City Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University. The following week, McKendree held off a challenge from the University of Central Missouri to win its first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship title. 

Heading into the 2018 NCAA Championship, McKendree has a record of 26-18 against the other seven teams in the field that will appear at Tropicana Lanes. The Bearcats have faced each of the other seven squads at least twice in 2017-18. McKendree has met Nebraska (13 times) and Vanderbilt (12 times) the most, while the Bearcats have just two contests against St. Francis and three each versus North Carolina A&T and Lincoln Memorial. 

Individually, McKendree has many key components back from the 2017 NCAA championship squad. Seniors Sarah Wille and Jessica Mellott have been part of all three NCAA Tournament teams for McKendree, along with juniors Lauren Pate, Ashley Hathaway and Ashley Dunn. Wille, who was named the 2017-18 MIAA Bowler of the Year last month, leads the Bearcats with a 211.69 average in traditional play, while she has averaged 202 in Baker competition. Mellott is second on the squad with a 209.87 traditional average and is also averaging 202 in Baker play. Mellott joined Wille as a first-team All-MIAA selection in 2017-18.

Pate has been consistent for McKendree this season, averaging just over 204 in traditional play and 203 in Baker competition. Pate was the lone regular in the Bearcats' lineup to collect second-team All-MIAA honors this season. Hathaway (190.25 average) and Dunn (191.67 average) have played key roles in McKendree's success this season.

Breanna Clemmer and Taylor Bailey dispelled any theories of a sophomore jinx for McKendree in 2017-18. Clemmer came on strong in the second half of the season and is third on the team with a traditional average of 209.64. Clemmer leads the Bearcats with a 208 average in Baker play. She was rewarded with first-team All-MIAA accolades for the second straight season. Bailey is a close fourth in traditional average for the Bearcats at 208.17, while she is a 204 bowler in the Baker format. Like Clemmer, Bailey was a first-team All-MIAA honoree in 2017-18. Both Clemmer and Bailey earned All-Tournament Team recognition during McKendree's NCAA title run last season, and Clemmer received Most Outstanding Bowler honors. 

Rounding out the McKendree NCAA Championship roster are senior Nicol Fung-Calleja and freshmen Adrianna Stacy and Britaney Myers. Fung-Calleja was a member of the Bearcats' NCAA Championship squad a year ago, while Stacy and Myers will be making their first appearance in the national tournament. 

There will be a new format for competition at the 2018 NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship. Teams have been seeded one through eight (as was the case in the past) and placed into two four-team brackets. The championship bracket will be a double-elimination format, with each round consisting of a best-of-three contest that includes the use of three team game formats -- Baker total pinfall, five person team match and a best-of-seven Baker match play. The two teams that reach Saturday's finals will revert back to the best-of-seven Baker match play format that existed in previous years. 

Tickets for the 2018 NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship can be purchased at www.ncaa.com/tickets, and by clicking the TICKET INFORMATION link above. An all-session pass can be purchased for $35, while individual session tickets are also available.