NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 8^th-9^th
Erie, Pa. | Rolling Meadows Lanes   
 
NCAA BOWLING CENTRAL
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (April 7, 2022) – Mount St. Mary's is one of four teams traveling to Erie, Pa. this weekend for the NCAA Bowling Regional Championships. For the Mountaineers, this is their second straight trip to regionals, having made the journey to Kansas City last year.  
 
SETTING THE SCENE
 
Reaching the semifinals in the Northeast Conference Championship, the Mount ran into a red-hot Long Island Sharks squad, who advanced to the championship day in a two round mega match win. Mount joins NEC champions Sacred Heart and fellow at-large bid Fairleigh Dickinson as the three teams from the league making the trip.
 
Entering NCAA play, six Mountaineers carry fill percentage north of 80 percent in traditional games and five hold 80 or higher in Baker games. Rebecca Dodson leads in both categories with a respective 87.0 and 84.2 percent. Alyssa Alexander takes charge in strike percentage for traditional, needing one shot 54.6 percent of the time. Dodson and Tamera Stanton also throw strikes more than half time in one format or the other.
 
A strong RPI – 10^th in the country at .594 – pushed the Mount to earn the at-large bid. Their 82 wins are an all-time program high, and the team's .683 win percentage stands 12^th nationwide.
 
Last year in Kansas City, the Mount fell to Vanderbilt in two rounds of mega match play before getting a tough draw in the loser's bracket with Nebraska. Pushing the Cornhuskers to the brink of elimination, the Mountaineers succumbed to a fierce rally and wound up getting removed from the tournament by the team who would go on to win the national title.  
 
FORMAT
 
Similar to the NEC Championships, the NCAA Regionals follow the mega match format. Teams square off in a best-of-three showdown, featuring a traditional round, Quint Bakers, and bracket play. Tournament play is double elimination. The one exception is the final match on Saturday afternoon. If the team without a defeat loses Match 6, they face off in a winner-take-all best-of-seven bracket play to determine a victor.
 
THE FIELD
 
Mount St. Mary's enters a regional with McKendree, Medaille and Bowie State. All three won their conference tournaments. The Bearcats are the top ranked team in America, boasting an 86-25 record, good for a .775 win percentage.
 
Medaille makes their third consecutive trip to regionals, winning automatic bids out of the Alleghany Mountain Collegiate Conference. The Mavericks upset Nebraska to hand the Mount its challenging opponents' schedule a season ago.
 
Bowie State won the CIAA and also heads to the regionals for a third time. Led by Andrew Campbell, the Bulldogs sailed through the conference, winning 47 games against nine defeats. Victories over Fayetteville State clinched them a spot in Erie.

ADMISSION
 
The public is welcome to attend, with tickets available at the door. Cost is $10 per adult and $5 per student daily. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD
 
The winner of the Erie Regional advances to the NCAA National Championship. Four teams contend for the title April 15^th and 16^th at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl in Ohio.