WALLINGFORD, CONN. (October 22, 2016)—The Sacred Heart bowling team won the SHU Bowl for the Cure tournament Saturday officially opening the 2016-17 season. The Pioneers dominated the competition sweeping their five matches, as reigning Northeast Conference Tournament MVP Lauren Hoffman (Monroe Township, N.J.) defeated teammate Amanda Nardiello (Brick, N.J.) 178-148 to win the Individual Tournament. 

Hoffman and Nardiello were two of three Pioneers named to the All-Tournament Team, with the former being named MVP after leading the individual field. In addition to the duo, Amanda Tyrrell (Selden, N.Y.) earned a spot on the team.

Team Tournament:

Match 1:

• SHU 960 – Franklin Pierce 900
• The Pioneers used three 200+ games from Hoffman, Nardiello and Tyrrell to win their first match of the season
• Hoffman led the team throwing a 226 game and Nardiello was right behind the senior with a 225

Match 2:

• SHU 931 – Felician 873
• Tyrrell repeated her match-one performance throwing her second straight 203 game to lead Sacred Heart
• Kristin Zimmerman (Plantation, Fl.) and Mariah Williams (Bloomington, N.Y.) came off the bench in the second match of the day bowling 188 and 180 respectively. For the rookie, this was the first action of her collegiate career

Match 3:

• SHU 979 – Kutztown 918
• Sticking with the same lineup from the previous match, again Hoffman and Nardiello led the way with 230 and 224 games

Match 4:

• SHU 990 – Caldwell 885
• Tyrrell paced the Pioneers with a 219 game. That was just one of three 200+ games for SHU as once again Hoffman and Nardiello finished just one pin apart, rolling 205 and 204 games
• Tori Boughton (Brick, N.J.) saw her first collegiate action in the fourth match throwing a 187

Match 5:

• SHU 1,003 - Molloy 911
• Tyrrell led the way with a 226 game, and was one of a trio of 200+ scores from the Pioneers as Hoffman finished just two pins behind her at 224 and Boughton threw her first collegiate 200+ game at 221

Individual Tournament:

• Hoffman downed Nardiello 178-148 in the final of the single-elimination individual tournament to claim the title
• As the one seed in the bracket after topping the leaders board averaging 214 per game in the team tournament, the senior earned a bye into the second round where she beat Felician's Kristin Natoli 259-170 to advance. She then took down another teammate in Courtney McGinn (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) 204-131 to move into the semifinals. There she faced fellow Pioneer Dominique Newton (Farmington, N.Y.). Hoffman avoided being upset by the sophomore with a 10-point win, 210-200, clinching a spot in the final
• Nardiello also earned a first-round bye as the three seed. First was the rookie Williams. Nardiello cruised into the quarterfinal with the 207-144 win. There she faced Sarah Morris (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and won 188-156. Nardiello punched her ticket to the final with the 223-157 victory over Molloy's Jenn Bisogno, but could not overcome Hoffman in the final match of the day