DURHAM, N.C. – The best season in school history ended for Saint Augustine's University on Monday, March 25, 2013, at the CIAA Women's Bowling Championships.

The Lady Falcons lost 4-1 to Winston-Salem State University in bracket play at AMF Durham Lanes. It was the second loss for the Lady Falcons in the double-elimination tournament. They finished tied for fifth in the three-day event.

The Lady Falcons achieved several highlights at the tournament. They earned the top-seed in the seeding round which is the first in the program's history. A 4-2 victory over crosstown rival Shaw on Sunday placed the Lady Falcons in the championship round winner's bracket for the first time in recent memory.

This comes on the heels of a regular season which saw the Falcons finish second in the Southern Division to Fayetteville State by one match. Had the Falcons won every match in the season's final divisional tournament, they would have hoisted the Southern Division crown.

“We had a good season,” said Head Coach Dot Neal, whose squad was 37-8 in the Southern Division and 50-25 overall prior to this past weekend. “We are not where we want to be, but we are better than we were. We let people know that St. Aug bowling is alive.”

Top bowler Nicole Sciortino (So./Raleigh, N.C.) racked up several honors at the tournament. She was named to the CIAA All-Tournament team on Monday and received her All-CIAA plaque in an awards ceremony on Saturday. She bowled the tournament's second-highest individual average (194.2).

Several other bowlers stepped up for the Lady Falcons. Bethany Daniels (Fr./Raleigh, N.C.) rolled a 173.8 average which was eighth highest among CIAA bowlers. Hunter Cannon (Fr./Rocky Mount, N.C.) averaged 166.2 and JaNia Jones (Sr./Fayetteville, N.C.) averaged 165.0 to help the Lady Falcons post an 8-2 record in the seeding round.

After defeating Shaw in bracket play, the Lady Falcons lost 4-3 to Bowie State on Sunday which placed them in the elimination bracket. Against WSSU, the Lady Falcons lost the first three games and never recovered. The final scores were 150-175, 113-166, 140-169, 188-158 and 155-167.
The Lady Falcons will attempt to contend for the division and league championship again next season. Jones and Najah Watson (Sr./Newark, N.J.) are seniors, but the rest of the team is young including Sciortino, a two-time All-CIAA selection.

“The program is headed in the right direction, but we still have some growing to do,” Neal said.