NEW CASTLE, Delaware – For the fourth-straight tournament, the Jacksonville State bowling team leaves with the championship trophy in hand.
 
Continuing an unprecedented start to an inaugural season, the top-ranked Gamecocks (55-9) capped a perfect 13-0 showing at Sacred Heart's Northeast Classic with three Baker match wins on Sunday. They beat fifth-ranked North Carolina A&T in the semifinals and then beat the Aggies again in the title match to win their fourth tournament in a row and extend their win streak to 18 matches.
 
Senior Kayla Smith was named Northeast Classic MVP and led three Gamecocks on the All-Tournament Team. She was joined on the team by fifth-year seniors Rebecca Hagerman and Maranda Pattison.
 
Just one day after upending NC A&T in a traditional match to ern the top seed in the Northeast Classic Bracket, the Gamecocks earned a 4-2 win in the semifinals over the second-seeded Aggies. Jax State won the first game 242-182, but allowed the Aggies to tie it with a 198-159 score in game two.
 
The Gamecocks took a 3-1 lead after convincing wins in games three and four, but the Aggies stayed alive with a 218-192 win in the fifth game. Jax State put the match away and clinched its spot in the title match with a 197-168 win in the sixth game.
 
Jax State swept Howard in a tune-up match, while NC A&T had to get past third-ranked and third-seeded Youngstown State to set up the rematch in the championship match.
 
The Gamecocks took the early lead in the final, rolling to a 235-181 win in the first game, but the Aggies evened the match with a 209-176 win in the second game. Jax State and NC A&T swapped wins in the third and fourth games, setting up a pair of lopsided victories in the fifth and sixth games to secure the title for the Gamecocks.
 
The title comes in a field of 34 teams that competed at Bowlerama in the town of New Castle, just south of Wilmington. It is the fourth in an inaugural season that has seen the Gamecocks play in just five events, while their lone tourney without a title was a runner-up finish in the season opening Destination Orlando.
 
Since that opening weekend, Jax State has won the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic, the Hawk Classic, the Stormin' Blue & White Vegas Classic and now the Northeast Classic. The Gamecocks have posted a 47-4 record since that opening event, including a 19-match win streak and now their current 18-game streak. The most recent win was their second perfect tournament so far this season.
 
They will now turn their focus on the Prairie View Invitational, which will begin on Friday at the ITRC in Arlington, Texas.