CLEVELAND—Jax State has only had a bowling program for three seasons. Tomorrow morning, it will make its third appearance in the NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship.
 
The Gamecocks are the top seed and bolster their most impressive resume in their short history with 100 wins, a Conference USA title, and an NCAA Regional championship this season. The team won six of the eight events they competed in this year and led every tournament in total pinfall.
 
"It has been a pretty awesome season, a historic season, and it's only fitting that these girls earned their way to this point," said coach Shannon O'Keefe. "We are looking forward to the next few days and hopefully ending it with lifting some cool hardware over our heads."
 
Jax State swept its way through the Lansing Regional last week at Royal Scot, defeating Carroll 2-0 and North Carolina A&T twice by the count of 2-0 in the Mega Match format.
 
"The bowling center in Lansing played tricky," said O'Keefe. "I feel like our girls were still pretty dominant based on the other scores that were there. I don't feel like it phased the girls and we just kind of picked up where we left off after that."
 
With the success of the season and in tournaments past, the usual nerves or pressures that come with competing on the big stage on national television seem to be at ease with the Gamecocks that do not have a senior on their roster.
 
"It doesn't even feel like we're at the Final Four," said junior Abbie Leiendecker. "Of course, it feels surreal and being able to chase a national championship in my home state is surreal, but I just think it feels like another tournament because we're all so close and there's just so much confidence in the team."
 
The Gamecocks will face Wichita State in the first round of the double-elimination Mega Match championship. The last time the two teams faced each other, the Shockers ended Jax State's 42-match win streak in the championship of the Big Red Invite in Lincoln, Neb. with a 4-3 win in the Baker best of seven finale. Jax State won three of the five meetings this season between the two teams with Wichita State's other win coming in a Baker total pinfall match at the Bulldog Invitational at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas in November by 64 pins.
 
The other side of the bracket of the all-Conference USA final has Arkansas State facing Vanderbilt.
 
First round matches will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern Time at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio. The two winners will face each other for a trip to the Baker best of seven championship match tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern. On Saturday, the final Mega Match to determine the other finalist will take place at 9 a.m. Eastern. The first five matches of the tournament will air live on NCAA.com.
 
The national championship match will take place at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and will air on ESPNU.