BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — For two straight years, the Medaille College women's bowling team has ended their season with an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title.
"Unlike another sport like basketball or soccer, they get the selection show and the invite to the NCAA. and we didn't have that," said head coach Laura Edholm. "It was like congratulations you won."
The women's bowling championship is unique where teams from Divisions I, II, and III compete against each other for a national title. Division-III teams have made that final field in the past but it wasn't easy, especially for Medaille.
"We would've had to have been in the top eight in the country," said associate coach Jeff Walsh. "We're not quite there yet."
But all of that has changed.
A few months ago, the AMCC became the first Division-III conference to get an automatic bid.
"I think it's the ultimate for them," Walsh said.
Because a win in the conference tournament means a trip to nationals to compete against the country's best programs.
"A little Division-III school gets to be with the big leagues and have a chance to beat everyone really," said Medaille bowler Morgan Walsh.
Morgan knows a thing or two about nationals. She bowled in that tournament a few years ago with another program.
She calls it a phenomenal experience and hopes her teammates will get that same feeling.
"You feel like you've really accomplished something and that your team has worked really hard on something with a common goal in mind," she said. "So I really want to do that with them and for them to really see and be proud of yourself, you've made it here, you are the best of the best and I know we can do that."
The Mavericks are currently 24-21 on the season. The AMCC championships are set for late March.
