BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Over the weekend, the LIU Brooklyn women's bowling team earned a 12th place finish at the Vanderbilt Music City Classic. The 7-8 record in Smyrna, Tenn. concludes the No. 12 Blackbirds 70-53 regular season.

Heading into the second day fo competition, the Blackbirds held onto first place out of 30 teams. 22 of those teams rank in the top-25 in the latest National Tenpin Coaches' Association (NTCA) poll.

Day two featured six traditional team matches, and LIU went 2-4 after facing talented top-ranked teams from all over the country.

The Blackbirds' two wins came over No. 17 Monmouth, 909 to 848, and No. 22 Valparaiso, 904 to 887. Sophomore Kristina Genova led in LIU's matchup against the Hawks, posting a 229. While junior Tori Burkins paced the team against Valparaiso, tallying a 234.

The team faced Northeast Conference foe, No. 14 Saint Francis U. in their second match of the day, but came up short, 908 to 926. The Blackbirds other losses came against No. 11 UMES, 807 to 922, in a two-pin difference to No. 4 Sam Houston State, 886 to 888, and to No. 2 Arkansas State, 887 to 1118.

Sunday's championship round featured three best-of-seven baker matches to determine final placement. The Blackbirds first faced NEC member, No. 16 Sacred Heart but fell, 0 to 4 (193 to 204, 190 to 202, 169 to 177, 178 to 179).

The next round brought back familiar Music City Classic opponent UMES, but the Blackbirds could not get it done, dropping the match 1.5 to 4.5 (182 to 198, 192 to 203, 184 to 189, 201 to 160, 183 to 183, 169 to 203).

In the final match, LIU faced Sam Houston State for the second time over the weekend in a fight for 11th place. The Blackbirds started out strong, but eventually fell to the No. 4 team, 2 to 4 (212 to 184, 184 to 177, 173 to 200, 163 to 229, 146 to 173, 191 to 205). 

After competing this past weekend in the largest field in NCAA bowling this year, the Blackbirds will prepare for the Northeast Conference Championships. LIU will face the five other NEC programs this weekend from Friday, March 25 until Sunday, March 27 in Howell, N.J.