DALLAS (April 16, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian bowler Morgan Pelkie was on the agonizing end of a close finish on Friday during the Intercollegiate Singles Championship Sectional Qualifier at USA Bowl.

Needing to finish in the top six of the 119-woman field to advance to the national level of the ISC, Pelkie tied for seventh, just one pin shy of the goal.

Bowlers each rolled six games in the qualifier, and Pelkie, a sophomore from Sarnia, Ontario, put herself in strong position with a 249 in game three and a 201 in game four. At that point, she was in fourth place.

But she fell back after the fifth game, in which she rolled a 177, while Wichita State's Madison Janack had a 224 and Carlene Beyer of Stephen F. Austin had a 211 to make up ground. That left the final qualifying spot up for grabs in the final game and Janack's 196 was ever-so-slightly better than Pelkie's 193. Beyer had a 203 but finished tied with Pelkie at 1,180, with Janack at 1,181.

The only other Eagles to finish in the top 50 were Claire McDermott, a sophomore from Harrisburg, Ill., who was 46th at 1,049 with a high game of 212 and Emily Tripp, a sophomore from Cabot, Ark., who was 49th at 1,043 with a high game of 198.

The Eagles now will turn their attention to the Intercollegiate Team Championship Sectional Qualifier, which will consist of 40 Baker games – 20 each on Saturday and Sunday. The top four teams in the 14-team field will advance to the ITC, set for May 6-8, also in Wyoming, Mich.