Fresh off a 2021 NCAA National Championship, the McKendree University women's bowling team opens the 2022-23 season as top ranked team in the Preseason National Ten Pins Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25 poll that was released Wednesday afternoon.
In the Preseason NTCA poll, the Bearcats earned 23 first place votes and 1,312 points to sit atop the rankings. Vanderbilt sits at No. 2 as they earned five first place votes and 1,212 points, while the University of Nebraska, who claimed the 2021 NCAA Championship, sits at No. 3 in the preseason poll after earning six first place votes and 1,193 points. Stephen F. Austin, who are the defending National Runners-up, is at No. 4 after earning one first place vote and 1,164 points and Sam Houston State earned 1,024 points to sit at No. 5 in the preseason poll.
Along with releasing the overall preseason Top 25, the NTCA also released its Preseason Division II/Division III Top 15 poll and the Bearcats sit atop that poll as well as they earned all 26 first place votes and 528 points. McKendree's GLVC rival Maryville University is ranked No. 2 in the D-II/D-III poll and 15th in the overall preseason poll. The remainder of the Top 5 in the D-II/D-II preseason poll were Wisconsin-Whitewater (392 points) at No. 3, fellow GLVC foes Lewis University (309 points) and Central Missouri (245 points) at No. 5.
Last season, McKendree, who is coached by Shannon O'Keefe, captured the program's second-ever NCAA National title following a 4-0 win in the championship match over Stephen F. Austin. In addition to winning its second national title and first since 2017, the Bearcats also repeated as the GLVC Champions and claimed the Erie, Pa., NCAA Regional title. Along with winning national titles in 2017 and 2021, the Bearcats were national runners-up in 2018 and 2019.
O'Keefe's 2022-23 team returns seven of its top 10 players from last season's national title team, including three-time NTCA All-American graduate student Hope Gramly (Prosper, Texas/Prosper). Along with being three-time All-American, Gramly is the two-time defending D-II/D-III Player of the Year. In addition to Gramly, two other All-Americans from last season also return – senior Rebecca Hagerman (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) and senior Maranda Pattison (Redwood Valley, Calif./Ukiah Independent, along with junior Isabel Allen (Tarnworth, England/Polesworth High), who was the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2021. The Bearcats also added Vanderbilt graduate student transfer Angelique Dalesandro (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Vanderbilt).
McKendree is one five schools from the GLVC ranked in the NTCA Preseason Top 25 poll as along with the Bearcats, Maryville is ranked 15th, Lewis is ranked 20th, Central Missouri is ranked 21st and league newcomer Newman is ranked 25th. In the Division II/Division preseason poll, the Bearcats are one of five schools ranked as along with McKendree and Maryville, who are first and second, Lewis is fourth, Central Missouri is fifth and Newman is 11th, while Upper Iowa was one of nine schools to receive votes in the D-II/D-III poll.
The Bearcats are scheduled to open the 2022-23 season on Oct. 21-23 as they host the Bearcat Roto Grip Open at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Original source can be found here.
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