NACOGODOCHES, Texas – The McKendree University women's bowling team capped off its 2022 national championship campaign by being voted the No. 1 ranked team in the final National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25 poll that was released on Tuesday.
The national champion Bearcats, who won the program's second-ever national title with a 4-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin in the championship match of the National Collegiate Bowling Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on April 16, topped the final poll with 17 of 18 first place votes and 640 points. National runner-up Stephen F. Austin was next in the poll as they earned 564 points, followed by Vanderbilt in third as the Commodores earned 554 points. Nebraska was fourth as the 2021 National Champions received the other first place vote and 494 points and Sam Houston State rounds out the final Top 5 at No. 5 as they earned 484 points.
McKendree was ranked No. 1 in every monthly NTCA poll since the beginning of the 2022 calendar year.
Along with being ranked the overall No. 1 team in the final NTCA Coaches Top 25 poll, the Bearcats were also the top-ranked team in the final NTCA Division II/Division III final poll. In that poll, the Bearcats earned all 16 first place votes and 308 points. McKendree's fellow Great Lakes Valley Conference foe, Maryville, finished second as the Saints earned 260 points, while NCAA Division III school, Wisconsin-Whitewater, was third with 230 points.
McKendree was one of six Division II programs to rank among the NTCA's All-Division final Top 25 poll and was one of four GLVC teams to rank in the final poll. Joining McKendree in the All-Division final Top 25 was Maryville at No. 14, Lewis was ranked 20th and Central Missouri, who were the GLVC runners-up this season, checked in at No. 23.
Three Bearcats were named NTCA All-Americans during the 2021-22 season as senior
Hope Gramly (Prosper, Texas/Prosper) repeated as both a First-Team All-American and the Division II Player of the Year, while junior
Rebecca Hagerman (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) was a Second-Team All-American and junior
Maranda Pattison (Redwood Valley, Calif./Ukiah Independent) earned Honorable Mention All-American honors. Additionally,
Shannon O'Keefe took home Division II Coach of the Year honors for the seventh consecutive season.
McKendree finished the 2021-22 season with a 92-27 overall record and went 6-2 at the NCAA Championships as they went 3-1 to claim the Erie Regional title and then 3-1 at the National Championships. On the year, the Bearcats claimed six tournament titles as along with winning three regular season tournaments, they won all three of their postseason tournaments (GLVC Tournament, NCAA Erie Regional and NCAA National Final Four).
