SINKING SPRINGS, Pa. – Coppin State's bowling team put together its strongest weekend of the season thus far, placing seventh out of 11 teams at the Golden Bear Invitational, hosted by Kutztown University at Bowlero Berks Lanes.
The Eagles finished with a 6-3 overall record, the fourth-best winning percentage in the field, highlighted by a come-from-behind victory over Holy Family in bracket play.
Coppin entered bracket play in eighth place but finished the weekend on a high note, defeating Holy Family, 4–2, to move up in the standings. After trailing 2–1 in the best-of-seven series, the Eagles rallied to win the final three matches to secure the match.
In Baker play, the Eagles opened with a 922–875 victory over Molloy, followed by an 897–993 win against Adelphi. Coppin later dropped matches to Dominican (N.Y.) and Kutztown but showed consistent improvement throughout the day to set up a solid position entering Saturday's traditional format.
The Eagles opened traditional play on Saturday with a bye before reeling off three-straight victories over Wilmington, Holy Family, and Caldwell. Coppin's momentum was halted by a tough loss to MEAC rival Delaware State to close out the day.
Blessing Lawrence led the way for the Eagles, finishing 10th overall in the individual standings with 919 total pins over five matches, averaging 183.80 per game. Her performance was anchored by a 215 against Caldwell, and she averaged 18.38 pins per frame with a 72.0% fill percentage and 24 strikes. In Baker play, Lawrence stepped up her game even more, posting an 83% fill percentage and converting on 87.5% of her makeable spares.
Shakyia Johnson also turned in a strong weekend, averaging 179.00 pins in her four matches, including a 212 against Caldwell. Johnson led the Eagles with an 81.0% overall fill percentage and made 82.6% of her makeable spares, averaging 18.00 pins per frame.
Shenae Harrison also provided a spark, rolling a team-high 232 game against Caldwell and averaging 167.00 pins over the weekend. In Baker play, Harrison was steady with an 82.7% fill percentage while converting a team-best 74.3% of her spare attempts.
Also contributing were
Antonnise Codner (160.25),
Samantha Vinacco (151.50), and
Victoria Davis (147.25).
Coppin State returns to action next weekend when it competes at the MEAC Meet #1 on November 8-9, held at AMF Towson.
