Oct. 27, 2008
Hackensack, NJ - The National Tenpins Coaches Association (NTCA) has released the first national poll of the season and Fayetteville State University is ranked 18th. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, MD, winner of the 2008 NCAA National Championship after defeating Arkansas State University in the title match last April, was ranked as the No. 1 team by the NTCA. This is the first of five polls that the NTCA will conduct during the 2008-09 NCAA bowling season.
Last season, the Lady Broncos amassed an 82-22 overall record which includes: capturing the first CIAA Championship in school history, their fifth consecutive Western Divisional title, and winning the CIAA East/West Roundup.
Fayetteville State was ranked as high as No. 13 by the NTCA last year. In the final poll released last season, FSU was ranked 15th. The overall ranking was based on the team game average. The Lady Bronco will open their season hosting a CIAA Western Divisional Match at B & B Bowling Lanes in Fayetteville, NC November 7-9, 2008.
The UMES Hawks received 10 out of a possible 20 first place votes and edged Vanderbilt University by nine points to achieve the top spot. The second ranked VU Commodores of Nashville, TN, who were the 2007 national champions and finished third in last year's national championship tournament, collected five first place votes.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NCAA national champs in 2004 and 2005, was ranked third. The Huskers received four first place votes. Ranked fourth was the University of Central Missouri of Warrensburg, MO, qualifiers for the NCAA national championship tournament for the last five seasons.
Arkansas State University of Jonesboro, AR, last season's national championship runner-up, was ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation.
NTCA voters rank the top 20 teams on their ballot. Each position has an assigned point value, ranging from 32 points for first place and one point for twentieth place. The sums for every team receiving votes are then sorted into descending order.
