HARAHAN, La. – With what has been an historic regular season to Jacksonville State's Inaugural Bowling season behind them, the Gamecocks will now begin the postseason this weekend at the Conference USA Championship.
 
Barely over a year after announcing the addition of bowling as their 18^th varsity sport, the Gamecocks (93-23) have already won seven tournament titles in just 10 events and climbed to the top of the national rankings. They enter the ultra-competitive CUSA Championship as the top seed, thanks to their No. 1 RPI ranking entering the weekend.
 
The nine-team championship will be the premier conference championship in the country, with all nine teams ranked in the top 17 in the national rankings. Five of the top seven teams in the latest RPI that was released on Tuesday are in the CUSA Field, along with another in the top 10 and three more in the top 17 spots.
 
The top-seeded Gamecocks will open the double elimination tournament on Friday at 9 a.m. against the winner of Thursday night's match between eighth seeded Tulane (14^th in RPI) and ninth-seeded Valparaiso (17^th in RPI). The tournament will be held at Colonial Lanes in Harahan, La., and all matches can be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
Despite being in their first season of competition as a program, the Gamecocks feature one of the most experienced lineups in the nation. Led by head coach Shannon O'Keefe, who has won four national titles in her nine-year coaching career alongside Operations Director Bryan O'Keefe, Jax State's nine-player roster features seven transfers that have all won at least one national title.
 
Through the regular season, Jax State's student-athletes are littered throughout the national rankings in every category. Four Gamecocks are in the Top 10 of the Player Composite Performance Index (PCPI), with three in the top four. Graduate student Rebecca Hagerman is first with a PCPI of 99.233%, while fellow graduate students Maranda Pattison (97.565%) and Crystal Elliott (97.218%) are third and fourth, respectively. Senior Isabel Allen is 10^th with a PCPI of 95.490%.
 
CUSA Championship Format
The championship will be a nine (9) team, double-elimination tournament. Best of three match format. Teams will bowl one standard five-person game for total pinfall, then five baker games for total pinfall. If one team wins both the traditional and baker match, they advance. If both teams split the standard and baker matches, they will move on to a best-of-seven series of baker games. If necessary, the second championship match on Sunday will be Baker Best of Seven match play only.
 
How to Keep Up
The tournament bracket, results and TV links can be found on our Championship Central page. Each round of the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. Admission to the championship is free.