NEW ORLEANS, La. - Bethune-Cookman sophomore bowler Natalee Armstrong was selected to the all-tournament team as she helped Bethune-Cookman to a seventh place finish at the Tulane Invitational on Sunday, Oct. 21. The three-day event took place at the AMF All Star Lanes and was hosted by Tulane University.
Armstrong concluded the weekend with a 202.2 average and scored a high of 233 in the third game of Saturday's team portion of matches, along the way helping the Cats defeat Grambling State.
"I thought Natalee was as steady as she can be," stated B-CU bowling head coach Tony O'Neal. "She actually picked up from where she left off last year. At the end of the 2011-12 season, she was one of the best bowlers we had, and she just picked up from that. I'm pleased with her progress and performance from this weekend."
On Sunday, the Wildcats entered the team tournament bracket as the seventh seed, facing off against Louisiana Tech in their opener. Bethune-Cookman fell in a tough match, 4-2, but bounced back to collect a 4-0 victory from Southern.
B-CU then faced Louisiana Tech once more in its final team match of the tournament.
The Lady Techsters opened the match with a 3-0 lead before the Wildcats stormed back to tie the match at three, sending it into sudden death. B-CU eventually came out on top to defeat the school that had collected wins against them twice over the course of the weekend - including a baker game from Friday's opening round action.
The player responsible for helping send the match into sudden death - senior Ypretycia Crumity from Largo, Fla. She would enter the match as a substitute in the third game, registering four crucial shots for the Wildcats.
"Ypretycia came up big for us," said O'Neal. "She ended up throwing four strikes, picked up two spares and had just a single open frame. She really did well. Without her giving us that spark, it would have been tough to get the final victory."
Also having a solid performance over the weekend was sophomore Felicia Baker, ending the tournament with an average of 185 after scoring a game high of 226 (vs. Grambling State - 10/20) and topping the 200 plateau again with a 205 (vs. Jackson State - 10/20).
On the weekend, the Wildcats finished with a record of 5-7.
B-CU will hit the lanes again next weekend when they host the Second Annual Wildcat Invitational at the Sunshine Bowling Center in nearby DeLand, Fla. Bethune-Cookman welcomes a 12-team field to Volusia County with teams from Adelphia, Alabama State, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida A&M, Monmouth, Morgan State, Prairie View, Sam Houston State, Southern and Tulane participating in the event.
"We need more consistency as a team going into next weekend," O'Neal expressed. "I think we tried too hard to live up to the billing, and we didn't represent the program in the fashion I know we can."
The Second Annual Wildcat Invitational begins Friday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. running through Sunday, Oct. 28. For more information, please visit www.BCUathletics.com.
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