NEC MEET #3
Saturday, February 22 - Sunday, February 23 
Stratford, N.J. | 30 Strikes Bowling Center 

EMMITSBURG, Md. (Feb. 21, 2020) - The Mount St. Mary's women's bowling team travels to the Garden State looking to punch their ticket to the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship and continue their quest for an NCAA Championship appearance. To do that, they must earn a spot during the third and final NEC conference matchup. 

SETTING THE SCENE

Mount stands in fifth place in the conference with a 4-8 record, and are clinging to the final qualifying spot. That would result in a play-in against the fourth place team, currently Fairleigh Dickinson (5-7). A good weekend could propel them into the top three and avoidance of the play-in, but they would need help to leap over 8-4 Sacred Heart. Setbacks would open the door for Saint Francis U and St. Francis Brooklyn, each one game back of the Mount and out of the tournament as things stand entering the weekend. 

One thing the Mountaineers have on their side is momentum, winning three of the last four tournaments. Across 32 contests in that span, Mount has gone 28-4. That boost helped them secure one postseason berth with the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championship (ITC) Sectionals. 

FORMAT

For the final NEC regular season meet, teams will square off in best-of-seven bracket play. All games are played under the Baker format. 

The Mountaineers are 9-5 this season when playing brackets, and are on a four-game winning streak which include victories over Saint Francis U and Sacred Heart. 

THE FIELD

All seven conference squads enter the weekend with something to fight for. Duquesne (10-2), Long Island (9-3) and Sacred Heart (8-4) all have their eyes set on a regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the championship. Fairleigh Dickinson (5-7) and Mount (4-8) are looking to punch tickets and try to advance into the top three, or at least host the play-in. Saint Francis U (3-9) and St. Francis Brooklyn (3-9) need to win and get help to make the top five and qualify.  

LOOKING AHEAD

Postseason play will begin in March with the USBC ITC Sectionals. The Mountaineers were placed in the Stratford, N.J. section, which will be held on the same lanes where Mount is bowling this weekend.