Jackson State captures top seed at 2019 SWAC Championship

ARLINGTON, Texas – Jackson State claimed the top seed for match play at the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Bowling Championship, leading the six-team field after Friday's five games of qualifying at the International Training and Research Center.

The SWAC champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship tournament that will take place April 11-13 in Cleveland.

The Lady Tigers finished qualifying with a 4,514 pinfall total to earn the No. 1 seed and an opening-round bye for Saturday's double-elimination match play. Prairie View A&M finished with a 4,407 total to capture the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Southern finished third with 4,338 followed by Alabama State (4,272), defending champion Texas Southern (4,229) and Alabama A&M (3,575).

Alabama State's Bailee Chapman led all individuals Friday with an average of 191.4 (a total of 957). Natalie Cura of Jackson State (189.8) was second and Southern’s Elizabeth Voisin (187) was third. Jackson State's Tierra Jackson (186.4) was fourth while a tie for fifth between Southern’s Sarah LeDuff and Prairie View A&M’s Jada Davis (185) rounded out the top five. To be eligible for the all-tournament team, players must have bowled at least four of the five team games (80 percent).

Saturday's match play will be streamed live on BOWLTV.com starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Sunday's finals will be taped for broadcast and scheduled to air on ESPNU March 31 at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Friday's qualifying round can be watched under here.

Go to SWAC.org for complete tournament information, including the bracket, results, photos and more