NJCU ATHLETICS Woodbridge native Jessica Spratford is leading the New Jersey City University women’s bowling team in yet another chase of a national championship this season. WALLINGTON – New Jersey City University junior Vicki Spratford, of Woodbridge, has added yet another impressive accomplishment to her already sparkling collegiate women’s bowling resume, as the Gothic Knight anchor defeated two athletes from Fairleigh Dickinson University to win the inaugural North East Women’s Collegiate Bowling Conference singles championship, Saturday at Wallington Lanes.
It was the final event of the regular season before the NCAA Championships in Apopka, Fla.
To become the first-ever NEWCBC conference champion, Spratford, the No. 2 overall seed after nine qualifying games of the championship tournament, defeated FDU freshman and top-seeded Kristy Kerr in the finals, 234-225. In the step-ladder semifinal match, she cruised past third-seeded senior Lindsay Frusciante of FDU, 236-194.
The championship match went right down to the 10th frame. After Spratford left a 2-5 pin combination, she needed to convert the spare and follow with two pins on her last ball. She did convert the spare, and rolled a strike on her final shot for good measure.
“Winning the NEWCBC singles tournament validates all of my hard work that I’ve put into my bowling career,” said Spratford, who was an all-state performer while at Woodbridge High School. “I am taking this as momentum going into nationals. During the stepladder semifinals and finals I was thinking that this is nationals, and ultimately it worked to my benefit.”
The NEWCBC, consisting of No. 1-ranked FDU, fourth-ranked NJCU, No. 7 Sacred Heart University, No. 16 (tie) Adelphi University, Saint Francis College (N.Y.) and Saint Peter’s College, had four conference events during the regular season, and all bowlers among the six schools who had competed in a minimum of nine of 12 singles games during the year were eligible for the league’s singles championship.
The top 32 keglers based solely on average per game qualified, and all six members of the NJCU roster – Spratford, senior Lauren Banz (of Carteret), juniors Amiee Deneuf (Hamburg), and Kristina Figueiredo (Carteret), and freshmen Candice D’Angelo (Coram, N.Y.) and Jenn Marmo (North Babylon, N.Y.) – made the cut. Overall, Spratford had an 11-game pinfall of 2481 (225.55). In nine qualifying games (226-256-201-182//236-201-243-245-221), she had a 2011 total (223.44) and received 290 bonus pins to finish just six pins behind Kerr for first place, 2,307-2,301.
Looking for that Orlando magic: NJCU women receive fourth
consecutive NCAA championship bid
The eight-team field for the fourth annual National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship was announced last week, and for the fourth consecutive year, New Jersey City University will compete for the national championship. The 2007 championship will be held at Wekiva Lanes in Apopka, Fla., just outside of Orlando, from April 12 through April 14. The national championship will be broadcast live on ESPNU on April 14 at 4 p.m. A tape-delay broadcast of the event will be aired on April 15 at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Gothic Knights enter the NCAA Championship as the No. 4 ranked team in the nation among Division I, II, and III varsity programs – the same ranking it owned entering the 2006 tournament.
NJCU is 69-21-1 overall and has a .764 winning percentage – the best winning percentage heading into the NCAAs in school history.
NJCU has reached the Final Four in two of its three previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament, placing third in 2004 and fourth in 2006 when the event was held in Houston, Texas. The 2005 championship was also held in Apopka, Fla., with the Knights tying for fifth place.
“Bowling in the national championships is such a great experience,” said Spratford. “Everyone should have the opportunity to live it, but only eight teams are selected. To be one of those eight teams is just great. It proves all our hard work throughout the season was worth it. But the season isn’t over yet. We still need to go out and show everyone that we aren’t done yet. We’ve had a couple weeks off and we are ready to get back to competition.”
Joining NJCU in Florida will be defending national champion Fairleigh Dickinson University, second-ranked University of Nebraska (winners of the 2004 and 2005 title) No. 3 Vanderbilt University, No. 5 University of Central Missouri, No. 6 University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and No. 7 Sacred Heart University. Minnesota State University-Mankato, ranked No. 11, is the final at-large selection. The Knights defeated each qualifier at least once this season in match-play, except for Vanderbilt.
NJCU is one of five schools that have received an invite each year that the championship has been offered by the NCAA; Nebraska, CMU, FDU, and UMES have also been selected for the event all four times.
NJCU is the only Division III institution in the championship. CMSU and Minnesota-Mankato are Division II schools. The other five participants are all Division I scholarship schools.