Click Here for Adelphi-Saint Francis U Championship Highlights
Click Here for Saint Francis U-Kutztown Semifinal Highlights
Click Here for NEC Tournament Headquarters
Click Here for Tournament Bracket (PDF)
Elmwood Park, NJ -- Adelphi was playing for more than the 2013 NEC Bowling Championship crown on Sunday at Parkway Lanes.
“We want people around the country to start taking our program seriously,” said Panthers’ senior anchor bowler Samantha Morlack. “We are a great program, a great group of players and I hope that people begin to see it.”
This weekend, the Panthers didn’t give anyone much of a choice whether or not to take notice.
Adelphi thrust itself right into the spotlight by going a perfect 3-0 in best-of-seven baker play on Saturday, guaranteeing the team its second-ever appearance in the NEC final on Sunday.
Needing only one more match victory over Saint Francis U to lock up their first-ever NEC Tournament crown, the Panthers came out firing on the way to a 4-0 sweep.
“Our kids have worked hard to get to this point, and they proved today that we are a force to be reckoned with,” said Adelphi head coach Bob Cincotta.
The Panthers, who are the No. 14 team in the nation, went 13-14 during NEC regular season play and entered the 2013 championship tournament holding the No. 6 seed as a result.
“You have to get here, and once you get into the tournament, it’s anybody’s game,” said Cincotta.
NEC Tournament results from Saturday’s action, and of years past, have proven Cincotta’s statement to be an accurate one.
The 2013 championship tournament was only two matches old and top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 19-8 in NEC regular season play, had already suffered elimination.
If it weren’t for No. 2 seed Kutztown’s victory in the last match on Saturday’s schedule, the No. 8 seed, Sacred Heart, would have made it through to Championship Sunday.
The 2013 NEC final wasn’t the first title tilt to pit the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds against one another.
In 2010, No. 6 seed Sacred Heart went a perfect 4-0 to take the crown, topping then-No. 5 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the championship match.
This year, it was the Red Flash who owned the No. 5 seed during what was the young team’s first-ever NEC Tournament appearance. Saint Francis, which has grown up quickly since founding its program in 2010, went 2-1 on Saturday before topping No. 2 seed Kutztown in Sunday morning’s elimination match.
Like Adelphi and other NEC members, the Red Flash, who are the No. 10 team in America, are hoping to hear their name called when the NCAA unveils its eight-team championship bracket on Wednesday, March 27 at 4:00 pm.
"Whether or not we get to the NCAAs, it doesn’t take away from what these women accomplished this weekend,” said Cincotta.