Bowl.com | Qualification Results
WICHITA, Kan. -- The first-round matchups in the double-elimination Intercollegiate Team Championships have been set for the University of Pikeville men's and women's bowling teams after 24 games of qualifying at Northrock Lanes on Thursday morning.
Pikeville's men are seeded 13th and face No. 4 McKendree (Ill.) in the first round of match play, while the Bear women are seeded fourth and will face No. 13 Bowling Green (Ohio). Action is scheduled to resume at 5:45 p.m. ET.
It's the first time since 2011 that the UPIKE men have made it to the ITC's. That season they qualified 14th and went 0-2, losing to No. 3 Robert Morris (Ill.) 4-0 and No. 11 Kansas 4-3.
UPIKE's best men's ITC qualification came in 2007 when it earned the No. 2 seed, but its best match-play performance came in 2008 as the No. 9 seed when it went 2-2.
The Bears tallied a total score of 4,501 pins in qualifying, while McKendree tallied 4,758. After failing to break 200 in the first 12 team games, the Bears went on to pass the mark in eight of the final 12. McKendree rolled 200 or better 12 times. Like UPIKE, the Bearcats have never won an ITC National Championship.
The two-time ITC National Champion UPIKE women improved four spots on last year's eighth-place showing in qualifying.
The Bears match against Bowling Green starts their quest to reach the ITC TV Finals for a third straight season, although they haven't won the title since 2008.
This is also the first time since that championship run in 2008 that the ITC's have been held in Wichita. Pikeville beat the hometown favorite Shockers that year 2-0 in the TV Finals.
Bowling Green rolled a team score of 4,321 through 24 games, compared to 4,515 for the Bears in a tightly contested morning. The Falcons rolled 200 or better six times, while Pikeville managed it eight times.
The Falcons have never won the ITC National Championship and open play against UPIKE with its highest seed since being third in 2012.
Complete coverage of the ITC's, including live video and scoring, can be found at Bowl.com/ITC.
