Alabama State wins 2022 SWAC Championship
March 27, 2022
ARLINGTON, Texas - Alabama State captured its second Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship with a victory over Southern on Sunday at the International Training and Research Center.
The Hornets entered the championship round of the 2022 edition as the top seed and would have had to lost twice to Southern in the double-elimination format to be denied the title. Alabama State was down 3-2 in the first best-of-seven Baker match and won the final two games to secure the conference championship, 4-3.
The finals were taped for broadcast and will air April 6 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU. BowlTV.com provided livestream coverage of qualifying and match play Friday and Saturday.
The back-and-forth tilt Sunday started with a win by Southern in Game 1, 178-152.
The Jaguars had a chance to lock up Game 2, but a missed 7 pin in the 10th frame by Southern allowed Alabama State senior Bailee Chapman the opportunity to even the match. She rolled a strike on her first delivery and knocked over nine pins on her second shot to give the Hornets a 177-171 win.
Alabama State maintained the momentum to start Game 3, rolling five consecutive strikes on the way to a 223-178 win and 2-1 advantage in the match.
Southern collected wins in the next two games (161-159 and 166-163) to take over the lead, 3-2.
Powered by eight strikes in Game 6, Alabama State evened the contest and forced the deciding game in the first match with a 222-179 win.
As the top seed, the Hornets elected to stay on the right lane in Game 7 and cruised to a clean game and 224-176 win to claim their first conference championship since 2017.
The Hornets featured Chapman, tournament MVP Savanna Razor, Emani Davis, Alahna DeGruy, Lyric O'Steen and Emily Price. Alabama State is coached by Andrew Chatmon.
The title also guarantees the Hornets a spot in the top 16 for the 2022 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship. The top four teams will bowl for the 2022 title April 15-16 in Columbus, Ohio.
The SWAC Championship kicked off Friday at the ITRC with five traditional games to determine seeding for the double-elimination bracket. Alabama State was the top qualifier with a 4,944 total (197.8 team average).
After receiving a first-round bye, the Hornets defeated No. 4 Florida A&M (4-1) and No. 2 Prairie View A&M (4-3) to advance to the championship round.
Southern was the No. 3 seed and dropped its first match to No. 6 Texas Southern (4-3) to fall to the Elimination Bracket. The Jaguars defeated No. 5 Jackson State (4-1), Texas Southern (4-1) and Prairie View A&M (4-2) to earn their spot in the final.
Southern was looking for its conference title since 2011. Prairie View A&M had won the previous two editions of the SWAC Championship (2019, 2021).
Five student-athletes were recognized as part of the all-tournament team for their performances in the five traditional games Friday at the SWAC Championship.
Razor earned the top spot with a 1,069 total, a 213.8 average. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Prairie View A&M's Stephanie Vasquez (1,059) and Asia Wren (1,053), Florida A&M's Jordan Shipp (1,033) and Jackson State's Juliana Rincon (1,029).
The Hornets entered the championship round of the 2022 edition as the top seed and would have had to lost twice to Southern in the double-elimination format to be denied the title. Alabama State was down 3-2 in the first best-of-seven Baker match and won the final two games to secure the conference championship, 4-3.
The finals were taped for broadcast and will air April 6 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU. BowlTV.com provided livestream coverage of qualifying and match play Friday and Saturday.
The back-and-forth tilt Sunday started with a win by Southern in Game 1, 178-152.
The Jaguars had a chance to lock up Game 2, but a missed 7 pin in the 10th frame by Southern allowed Alabama State senior Bailee Chapman the opportunity to even the match. She rolled a strike on her first delivery and knocked over nine pins on her second shot to give the Hornets a 177-171 win.
Alabama State maintained the momentum to start Game 3, rolling five consecutive strikes on the way to a 223-178 win and 2-1 advantage in the match.
Southern collected wins in the next two games (161-159 and 166-163) to take over the lead, 3-2.
Powered by eight strikes in Game 6, Alabama State evened the contest and forced the deciding game in the first match with a 222-179 win.
As the top seed, the Hornets elected to stay on the right lane in Game 7 and cruised to a clean game and 224-176 win to claim their first conference championship since 2017.
The Hornets featured Chapman, tournament MVP Savanna Razor, Emani Davis, Alahna DeGruy, Lyric O'Steen and Emily Price. Alabama State is coached by Andrew Chatmon.
The title also guarantees the Hornets a spot in the top 16 for the 2022 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship. The top four teams will bowl for the 2022 title April 15-16 in Columbus, Ohio.
The SWAC Championship kicked off Friday at the ITRC with five traditional games to determine seeding for the double-elimination bracket. Alabama State was the top qualifier with a 4,944 total (197.8 team average).
After receiving a first-round bye, the Hornets defeated No. 4 Florida A&M (4-1) and No. 2 Prairie View A&M (4-3) to advance to the championship round.
Southern was the No. 3 seed and dropped its first match to No. 6 Texas Southern (4-3) to fall to the Elimination Bracket. The Jaguars defeated No. 5 Jackson State (4-1), Texas Southern (4-1) and Prairie View A&M (4-2) to earn their spot in the final.
Southern was looking for its conference title since 2011. Prairie View A&M had won the previous two editions of the SWAC Championship (2019, 2021).
Five student-athletes were recognized as part of the all-tournament team for their performances in the five traditional games Friday at the SWAC Championship.
Razor earned the top spot with a 1,069 total, a 213.8 average. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Prairie View A&M's Stephanie Vasquez (1,059) and Asia Wren (1,053), Florida A&M's Jordan Shipp (1,033) and Jackson State's Juliana Rincon (1,029).