STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – [Bracket] Indiana Tech became the inaugural NAIA Women’s Bowling Champion after defeating Midland (Neb.) on Saturday.

Indiana Tech opened its season and landed at No. 3 in the RPI rankings and would be there again in the final regular-season RPI. Indiana Tech closed out its season with the WHAC tournament title, which also qualified them for the national championship.

Midland (Neb.) opened its season and landed at No. 4 in the RPI rankings and held that spot for a while before dropping to No. 7 in the final regular-season RPI standings. Midland (Neb.) closed out its regular season with a win at the team's unaffiliated group tournament, which qualified them for the national championship.

The first day of the bowling championship the teams competed in baker play to decide rankings for placement in the bracket. After baker play, Indiana Tech claimed the No. 1 spot with a total pinfall of 4812 through six baker sets. Midland (Neb.) landed at No. 6 with a total pinfall of 4445.

Both teams had a bye to open play in round 2 on the first day of match play in the bracket. The teams won both of their matches on Friday and advanced to round 6 where they would face each other on Saturday morning.

Neither team had seen a loss during the tournament at this point. Midland (Neb.) took the first set but Indiana Tech came back strong to capture the next three sets for a 3-1 win. Midland (Neb.) knocked down its highest total of pins during the tournament in set one of the round 6 match at 236.

Midland (Neb.) got bumped down to the loser’s bracket after the loss to take on Pikeville (Ky.) in round 7. Midland (Neb.) went up two sets to none right away before Pikeville (Ky.) captured set three. The Warriors would close the match out in set four to advance to the championship and face Indiana Tech one more time.

In the championship, both teams started strong and tied the first set.  Indiana Tech would capture the wins for sets two and three but Midland (Neb.) wasn’t done yet. Midland (Neb.) stayed alive with a 201-165 win in set four.

Indiana Tech, however, bounced back in set five to win the inaugural NAIA Women’s Bowling Championship.

All-Tournament Team

Kristina Catoe – Pikeville (Ky.)

Maryssa Carey – Indiana Tech

Brittney Schnicke – Midland (Neb.)

Bailey Gipson – Lawrence Tech (Mich.)

Megan Carpenter – Baker (Kan.)

Coach of the Year

Bobby Brown – Pikeville (Ky.)