ARLINGTON, Texas – Coming out of the elimination bracket Prairie View A&M University's resilience proved to be what was needed to overcome the Alabama State University bowling team winning their sixth tournament championship in the history of the program.
 
"This I have to admit was the hardest challenge in a long time trying to get to the Championship match," said the head bowling coach Glenn White".  "It was certainly exciting and rewarding to see this young team perform at the level that they did to defeat a veteran returning champion in such an intimidating environment with the cameras and lights. They showed up at the right time to put all their hard work into action. It was an awesome, awesome performance after losing the first match and never losing again. I am one proud coach. Hats off to them and we're looking forward to Regionals."


How it Happened:
The third-seeded Lady Panthers dropped its first match of the 2023 SWAC tournament to Jackson State (947-1035, 844-919) on Friday sending them to the elimination bracket to face number one-seeded Southern, who also lost their first match.
 
The next round consisted of a bout with Southern moving them back to the winner's bracket with the scores of 1031-966, 994-938. A rematch with Jackson State again found the Lady Panthers moving to the semi-final round that would determine their fate.  PVAMU won by the scores of 895-869, and 867-857. 
 
With momentum on their side, the Lady Panthers opened up Sunday taking command with a 966-843, traditional game victory.  The five-game baker match came down to PVAMU garnishing a 972-837 win moving them to the championship bracket to face the defending champion Alabama State.
 
Prairie View A&M went ahead 1-0 in the first match thanks to a narrow 181-179 win.  The Lady Panthers continued their surge taking game two (211-185).  Alabama State would take game three (180-197), but a 200-162 decision in favor of the Lady Panthers gave them a 3-1 lead.  Continuing their momentum PV went on to take game five with a 179-161 four out of seven baker format winning the conference tournament crown with the victory.
 
Stephanie Vasquez was named the tournament's Most Valuable Bowler, while also earning a spot on the SWAC All-Tournament team.  Teammates Ivelisse Reyes and Jayda Gordon also was named to the All-Tournament team.
 
 
Next Up:
PVAMU awaits its opponents for the NCAA Women's Bowling Tournament, with the regional round beginning April 7-8 in Arlington, Texas at the ITRC Bowling Center.

Keep up with all the latest news and information for PVAMU athletics by following pvpanthers.com as well as through Twitter via the PVAMU general sports account (@PVAMUPanthers). You can also follow along on Instagram.com/pvamupanthers.