GATES, N.Y. (April 2, 2026) – Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion Dominican University New York defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama A&M University, 2-0, in a play-in match at the Rochester Regional of the 2026 NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship on Thursday morning at ABC Gates Bowl. The event is being hosted by Roberts Wesleyan University and the Rochester Sports Commission.

Dominican (71-32) became the first women’s bowling team representing the CACC to win a match in the NCAA Tournament. The conference is sponsoring women’s bowling for its fourth year, and is in its second season of owning an automatic qualifier to the NCAA National Collegiate Championship.

The Chargers move on to the four-team double-elimination portion of the Rochester Regional. DUNY faces Conference USA at-large selection Vanderbilt University, the tournament’s overall No. 2 seed and the nation’s No. 2-ranked team, on Friday at 9 a.m. at ABC Gates Bowl.

On Thursday, Dominican won the traditional segment of the mega-match, 969-895, before also prevailing during five-game Baker play, 952-935. The Chargers started the same lineup – in the same order – for both formats: right-handers Jenna Jump, Briana Sinnott, Stephanie O’Malley, Angelina Tati, and Kyra Walter. Tati led the way during traditional play with a 226 game, while Sinnott, O’Malley and Walter all rolled in the 190s.

The Chargers led by 75 pins after three games of the Baker format, only to see Alabama A&M come all the way back in Game 4, shooting 256 to the Chargers’ 167 to move ahead by 14. The Bulldogs couldn’t keep up that pace, however, with Dominican’s 171 in Game 5 enough to prevail.

Simultaneous to the Dominican-Vanderbilt match on Friday morning, No. 8-ranked Maryville University will take on No. 9 Sam Houston State University. At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the morning winners will meet for a spot in Saturday’s championship match, and the morning losers will square off in an elimination match. The Rochester Region champion advances to the 2026 National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship in Parma Heights, Ohio, from April 10-11.

Dominican is a third-year program making its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Founded in 1961, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has been affiliated with NCAA Division II for 20 years. Conference institutions compete for championships in 17 sports – seven for men, nine for women, and one co-ed. The CACC contains 11 full members in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Membership includes the University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican University New York, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.