WICHITA, Kan. — The toughest competition in the country descended on Wichita Tuesday afternoon, with a pair of Newman women's bowlers taking part in the opening day of competition at the Intercollegeiate Singles Championships, where both Miranda Hejny and Haley Williams fell during match play.

The duo were the first Newman bowlers to qualify for the singles championships since 2012, and Williams made it count with a victory in the first round of match play at Northrock Lanes, but by the end of the day, both Jets were eliminated from singles contention and will turn their attention to the Intercollegiate Team Championships that begin Thursday.

After the morning qualifying, Williams was seeded eighth with an eight-game total of 1,523, while Hejny was two spots behind in 12th with a 1,443 total. That got Hejny a matchup with No. 13 seed in the first round of match play, and despite rolling the fourth-best score of the first round with a 578, she fell to Lawrence Tech's Jacqueline Evans, who bowled the top score of the round with a 660.

Williams didn't top her teammate's score by much, but her three-game total of 582 was enough to get past Indiana Tech's Samantha Pasch, who put up a 476. A round-of-12 matchup against defending national champion Emily Eckhoff of Hastings College awaited, and despite putting up a 209 in the second game and rallying in the third, Williams fell 578-544 to finish her day. Eckhoff went on to reach the semifinals, which are Saturday morning.

After a day off, Williams and Hejny will join the rest of the Jets for the team event, with qualifying Thursday morning followed by match play throughout the rest of the day Thursday and Friday.