NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (4/15/16) – The Arkansas State women's bowling team earned the No. 2 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament Friday after splitting a pair of matches in the morning seeding round at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in New Brunswick, N.J., with bracket play set to begin this afternoon approximately 2:30 p.m. (CT).

The Red Wolves will take on the No. 7 seed, North Carolina A&T, in their first round matchup. The winner will play the winner of No. 3 Nebraska and No. 6 Central Missouri, while the two losers will play in a match that will eliminate one team.

A-State (84-34) dropped its first match of the day to Stephen F. Austin 989-878 with Stephanie Mims leading the way with a 206. However, the team responded by edging out Nebraska in its final seeding round match by a single pin 1,051-1,050. Jordan Richard led the way with a 232 followed by Jordan Kasza (211), Jadee Scott-Jones (208), and Mims (205).

Richard finished second in the individual standings after the seeding round with a 1,540 total pinfall (220 per game average), while Mims was right behind her in third with 1,532 pins (218.9 per game average).

Sam Houston State earned the top seed in the field with a 5-2 record, while Vanderbilt is the fourth seed after tying A-State and Nebraska with a 4-3 record, but fell to No. 4 based on tiebreakers. Stephen F. Austin is No. 5 after holding the top tiebreaker over Central Missouri and North Carolina A&T as all three teams went 3-4. McKendree is the eighth seed after posting a 2-5 mark.

Teams will now compete in best-of-seven Baker matches in the double elimination tournament beginning Friday, April 15 around 2:30 p.m. (CT). In the Baker format, each of the five team members, in order, bowls a complete frame until a complete (10-frame) game is bowled. A Baker match tied at 3½ a piece after seven games will be decided by a tiebreaker using the Modified Baker format.

For the latest on the A-State women's bowling team, fans can follow the squad on Twitter (@stAtebowling) and by liking the Arkansas State Women's Bowling Facebook page.