Pittsburgh, PA – Contributed – Defeating No. 4 Nebraska 2-1 in a thrilling mega-match Saturday afternoon, the No. 3 overall seed Arkansas State women’s bowling team punched its ticket to Cleveland for the 2026 National Collegiate Bowling Championship April 10-11 at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio.
With the win, A-State improved to 80-34 this season and wins a regional for the third time in the last four seasons, including Rochester Regional titles in 2023 and 2024. The Red Wolves are assured a top four finish in the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in program history following runner-up finishes in 2008, 2021, 2023 and 2024 along with third place finishes in 2010 and 2013.
Nebraska took the traditional game by a margin of 934-885. Maggie Thoma led A-State with 188 pins and was followed by Alex-Anne Auclair (183), Malaya Chavez (175), Amanda Lang (172) and Kaylee Back (167).
A-State answered in the Baker 5-game total pinfall winning by a margin of 995-922 to force a best-of-seven series. The Red Wolves took a commanding lead with a 232-160 tally in game one. Nebraska got back 22 pins in game two, 214-192 but A-State went up by 95 pins by way of a 225-180 edge in game three. The Cornhuskers did not go away quietly taking game four 203-160 but A-State closed out the fifth game 186-165 to win by 73.
The Red Wolves took game one in the best-of-seven 216-206 but Nebraska answered in game two 233-202. A-State took the next two games to be on the brink of advancing, 198-194 and 203-194, but the Cornhuskers won a battle in game five, 257-252, to extend the match to game six. Nebraska forced game seven after a 232-171 tally in game six, but Thoma provided three consecutive strikes in the 10th to cinch a 213-209 victory.
The 2026 National Collegiate Bowling Championship gets underway Friday at 8:00 a.m. (CT). All four teams to reach the championship in Cleveland hail from Conference USA; No. 1 Jacksonville State No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Arkansas State and No. 5 Wichita State. A-State will meet Vanderbilt while Jacksonville State meets Wichita State.
The 2026 National Collegiate Bowling Championship is a double-elimination tournament using the mega-match format (traditional team game, 5-game Baker set and, if necessary, a best-of-seven Baker series). Sessions begin at 8 a.m. (CT) and 1:30 p.m. (CT) each day.