BROOKLYN, N.Y. - With a school record 75 wins this season, the LIU Brooklyn bowling team enters the Northeast Conference Championship as the second seed, which marks the first time the Blackbirds (75-42, 11-7 NEC) will not have to play in the qualifying rounds. LIU will begin the quest for the school's first-ever NEC Championship on Saturday morning at Howell Lanes in Howell, N.J. The championship will conclude on Sunday afternoon and for the first time ever, the NEC winner will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in two weeks time.

TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN
The NEC Championship will feature the top six teams in a double-elimination bracket to decide the 2018 Champion. No. 10 Fairleigh Dickinson, the team with the highest ranking in the NTCA Coaches poll, is the defending champion, and the third seed this weekend, while No. 12 Sacred Heart, the 2016 champ, is the top seed in the event.
Here are the seeds (determined by order of finish in regular season):

1. Sacred Heart (13-5)
2. LIU Brooklyn (11-7)
3. Fairleigh Dickinson (10-8)
4. Saint Francis U (10-8)
5. Duquesne (8-10)
6. St. Francis Brooklyn (7-11)

The No. 13 Blackbirds closed out the final round of NEC regular season play last month with a 5-1 mark to secure the second slot, the highest seed in LIU history. The remaining ranked teams in the championship are No. 16 Saint Francis U. and No. 17 Duquesne.

"It's absolutely an accomplishment to finish in the top two," said seventh-year head coach Kayla Jones. "It is one of our goals from the beginning of the season. With having AQs for the first time ever this year, it makes the opportunity of the national platform a little more real. I think we are peaking at the right time. As long as we focus on what we do best, and to continue to compete as the best team we are capable of doing I believe we will be fine."

The bottom four teams will start the event on Friday morning with best-of-seven baker matches to decide which two schools will move into the championship bracket. The championship bracket will have a new format with all matches (except a possible tiebreaker for the title) being played as mega matches. A mega match is a 5-game total pinfall baker match, followed by a traditional match. If the score is tied 1-1 at that point, a best-of-seven baker match will then decide which team moves on.

"The new mega match format is long and demanding," continued Jones. "It's extending the frames, but  at the same time, it makes each frame mean even more. We have never done the mega match format and once competition starts on Saturday it is all even. Anyone in the final four has a chance to win it, us included."

The Blackbirds have an extremely deep lineup and can go many different ways depending on lane conditions and other factors, as the regular season showed. Leading the way is a group of four seniors Lauren McKowen, Alyssa Balicki, Kristina Genova and Marlee Tyler. In NEC matches, McKowen ranked the highest in the NEC with a 19.37 pins per frame average. Then with junior Kayla Johnson, and sophomore Tyler Karpinecz, the Blackbirds can roll out five players at a time that can throw strikes and  have high spare percentages. Freshmrn Kellie Frain, Sarah Florenceans Stephanie Judkins have also added to the team's deep bench this season.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• Runner-up in NEC regular season, getting 1st round bye for first time in school history.
• School records for wins (75) and win percentage (.641).
• Blackbirds are flying high as of late, going 26-6 over their last eight days of competition.
• Won second place in both Bud Whitman meets at Kutztown to open season.

RECENT PERFORMANCES AT NEC CHAMPS
Last year at Howell Lanes, the No. 5 seeded Blackbirds started the day with a win over No. 4 seeded Saint Francis U., but got eliminated with back-to-back losses to No. 3 St. Francis Brooklyn and No. 6 Caldwell. Two years ago in 2016, LIU had their best-ever performance in the NEC Championship, falling just short of the title to Sacred Heart, losing the championship match in double-elimination. Prior to 2016, the Blackbirds had never advanced to the tournament final match.

ADMISSION/LOCATION INFORMATION
All NEC students with proper institutional I.D. will be admitted free. All other individuals will be charged admission. Ticket prices are $10 per day for adults or $15 for a two-day pass and $5 per day for individuals 65 and older or children 11-18. Children 10 years of age and under will be admitted free.

Howell Lanes
1002 Route 9 South
Howell, NJ 07731
732-462-6767

Click here for the Howell Lanes website.