READING, PA - The Saint Peter's University women's bowling team finished 17th out of 28 teams at the fifth annual KU Invitational, the nation's premiere NCAA regular-season tournament.
The Peacocks rolled 9547 pins over the two-day, 12-match qualifying rounds to finish 19th - the best qualifying round pinfall by Saint Peter's in their history of competing at the tournament. In the four-out-of-seven bracket round on Sunday, the Peacocks defeated Florida A&M and North Carolina Central to advance to the 17th place match. Bethune-Cookman chose not to compete, forfeiting 17th place via no-contest.
In the Day One Quad-Baker Match round, the Peacocks rolled to a 3-3 record and 4167 pins. Victorious over Southern, Coppin State, and Morgan State, Saint Peter's dropped matches to Florida A&M, Howard, and nationally-ranked Valparaiso by just 30 pins.
In the Day Two Traditional-Match round, senior Michele DeVries turned in one of the best performances of her college career. DeVries finished 14th overall, rolling 1205 pins over six matches for a 200.84 average, including 200 games vs tournament runner-up Vanderbilt (222), fifth-place Stephen F. Austin (203), and tournament champion Maryland-Eastern Shore (202). Junior Samantha Buzelle added a 1134 pin effort, including a season-high 244 in the 33-pin loss to Vanderbilt. Despite a team-record 5380 pinfall round, Saint Peter's managed just a 1-5 record, losing to four Top 20-ranked teams who finished among the top eight teams in the tournament. In the match against Maryland-Eastern Shore, sophomore Nikki Allegretti bowled a collegiate career-high 192, one of four 190+ Peacocks' scores in the match, as junior Nancy Shivers also made her traditional match collegiate debut against the defending NCAA National Champions.
The Peacocks rallied in the final match of the day to earn their victory. After trailing most of the match to North Carolina Central, Saint Peter's closed the gap to within striking distance to begin the 10th frame. After DeVries turned in a leadoff 191, senior Jen Houseward converted a 6-10 spare, then threw a strike to put the match in the hands of her three remaining teammates. Sophomore Sara Marcazzolo followed, converting a near-impossible 5-10 split to tie the match. Junior Jeannie Chambers put the finishing touches on her tournament-high 215 game by striking, setting up the anchor showdown. Buzelle's 197 finish guaranteed the six-pin victory.
Saint Peter's started four-of-seven Baker Match bracket-play on Day Three ranked 19th. The Peacocks earned a rematch against 20th seeded Florida A&M, defeating them in six games with a 193-172 final game victory. In the second match, Saint Peter's outlasted North Carolina Central with a 206-202 game seven victory. The Peacocks readied to compete for the 17th spot until Bethune-Cookman chose not to compete in their final match of the day.
Saint Peter's finished the tournament with a 6-8 record, improving their season record to 10-19. The Peacocks head to Bradley Beach, NJ next weekend to compete in the second Northeast Conference meet of the season.
