WICHITA- Newman Women's Bowling earned a bid to the NCAA Championships. With Sunday's GLVC Tournament victory, the No. 14-ranked Jets earned the GLVC's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Women's Collegiate Bowling Championship. The NCAA selection show was March 25 at 3 PM where the Jets learned their place in the tournament. Newman was selected as the three seed in the Arlington Regional. Newman drew Wichita State in the first round of the regional. The Jets will kick off the tournament on Friday, April 3rd at 10 AM. 

GLVC Tournament Recap: Champions
In the first round of the GLVC Tournament, the two seeded Jets faced the seven seeded Quincy. Newman knocked down a total of 2,065 pins to snag the 2-0 sweep over Quincy (1,805). Daniella Walbaum led the team with a 212 game in Traditional play. 

In the second round, Newman was led by senior Kassidy Miller in Traditional play against three seed McKendree, recording a 231 game. In the baker portion, the Jets continued its dominance winning by 84 pins with a 243 game highlighting the five-game set. 

In the semifinals against the five seed Oklahoma Christian, the Jets continued to dominate with a 204.6 average in Traditional play.  Paighton Crumley (254) and Kassidy Miller (234) led the way for the Jets. Newman jumped out to an 83-pin lead after the first three Baker games and didn't look back, securing its third 2-0 match sweep in the tournament. With this win, the Jets secured their third ever appearance in the GLVC Championship match since joining the GLVC four years ago. 

The Jets took on defending champions and top seeded Maryville in the Championship. Newman saw consistent scores from the entire five-person squad in the Traditional leg, with three bowlers – Walbaum, Miller, and Claire Jacobson – reaching the 190-plus mark. Maryville responded by averaging 194.4 in the Baker portion to beat out Newman by 15 pins and tie up the match. Newman would go on to dominate the best-of-seven Baker series with a 203.8 average and four consecutive wins to claim the title. The Jets secured their first GLVC Championship in program history, and knocked off the two-time defending champions. This title is Newman's first title since Cross Country claimed the 2014 Heartland Conference Championship.  Jacobson, Miller, and Ashley Soto earned All-Tournament team. 

Jets Season Recap
The Jets posted a 73-30 overall record, a 70% win percentage this season. The Jets defeated 29 top 25 ranked teams this season. Newman placed first in the Warhawk Classic to kick off the season. The Jets then hosted the Midstates Championship where they placed second. Next was the Track Kat Clash, taking fifth place. In the Bearcat Classic, the Jets placed seventh. At DII Classic in November, Newman placed fourth. Kicking off the second semester, the Jets placed 11th in the Saints Classic. Next up, the Flyer Classic resulted in an eighth place finish. Newman claimed another title at the Wildcat Invitational, going 10-2 on the year. The Jets then traveled to the Music City tournament, taking 15th place. At USBC Sectionals, Newman placed third to clinch their spot in USBC Nationals on April 15-18 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

Season Awards
Three Jets earned All-GLVC honors, with Billy Murphy earning Coach of the Year in the GLVC. Claire Jacobson earned Freshman of the Year honors, earning Newman's second Freshman of the Year honor. Jacobson was Third in the conference with a 203.0 Traditional average and fourth with a 202.6 average in Baker play through 1,056 frames. She recorded a 49.7 strike percentage, 84.9 fill percentage, 85.9 single-pin spare percentage, and 84.3 makeable-spare percentage as the anchor bowler. Jacobson helped Newman to a 69-30 record and the second seed in the GLVC Tournament. She was named GLVC Athlete of the Week twice: Oct. 16 and Feb. 19 This is Jacobson's first nod to All-GLVC First Team for her first career All-Conference honor. Paighton Crumley and Ashley Soto both earned a spot on Honorable Mention All-GLVC. Soto was also named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Honoree. Newman earned this year's GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award, while eight student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also recognized. These individuals must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees from full-time GLVC member institutions are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.

 Billy Murphy was named GLVC Coach of the Year. He earned his first Coach of the Year honor, and third GLVC major honor for Newman. Murphy becomes first non-Maryville Coach of the Year since 2020. Murphy led Newman to a 69-30 regular season record and the second seed in the GLVC Tournament. He guided Newman to victories in the Warhawk Classic on Oct. 10-12 and the Wildcat Invite on Feb. 13-15. Murphy guided Jacobson to Freshman of the Year honor, as well as Paighton Crumley and Ashley Soto Honorable Mention.

Scouting the Arlington Region: 
The Jets claimed the No. 3 seed in the region, matching up against the No. 2 seed Wichita State Shockers in the first round. The Shockers posted a 73-33 overall record this season. The Jets and Shockers met earlier this season, with the Jets defeating the previously No. 5 ranked Shockers 938-923 at the Track Kat Klash. In the conference USA Championship, the Shockers lost to seven seed Youngstown State in the opening round. They were then eliminated from the tournament with a loss to nine seed Sacred Heart. This was a T-9th/12 finish for the Shockers. In the March NTCA Poll, released on March 16, the Shockers were ranked No. 5 in the country. This season the Shockers claimed two titles, the first coming at the Track Kat Clash. The Shockers also won the Big Red Invite in February, taking first of 12 teams. The Shockers had four earn a spot on the CUSA Performers of the month team this season. Aleesha Oden of the Shockers has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 IBMA Collegiate Bowler of the Year. Oden was also named to the CUSA All-Academic Team. 

Louisiana Tech, the top seed in the Arlington Region (No.4 overall seed) will face the fourth seed Bryant University. Louisiana Tech is currently the No. 6 ranked team in the country via the March NTCA Poll. This is LA Tech's sixth consecutive season qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. LA Tech took third place at the Conference USA Championship Tournament. Tech has 44 ranked wins this season with seven top-five finishes. LA Tech also qualified for their sixth consecutive USBC Nationals after taking second at sectionals. 

Bryant University is currently ranked No. 18, via the March NTCA Poll. The team secured an automatic bid to the 2026 NC Bowling Championship after winning the ECC Championship. Bryant went 3-0 at their conference tournament to claim their auto bid. This is their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Bryant posted their best season in program history with a 55-32 record in the regular season. 

NCAA Championship Information:
The double-elimination tournament has a 19-team championship field. The championship bracket was revealed during a selection show on Wednesday, March 25 on NCAA.com. Eleven conferences earned automatic qualification, with the remaining eight teams selected at-large by the women's bowling committee.

The NCAA Women's Bowling Committee announced today the 19 teams vying for the 2026 National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship. Eleven conference teams were granted automatic qualification, with the remaining teams being selected at-large. The following conferences and their representatives received an automatic qualification:
Saint Vincent College from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, Dominican (New York) from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Fayetteville State University from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Carroll University (Wisconsin) from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, Belmont Abbey College from Conference Carolinas, Jacksonville State from Conference USA, Bryant University from the East Coast Conference, Newman University from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, North Carolina A&T State University from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Duquesne University from the Northeast Conference, and Alabama A&M University from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The remaining eight teams that were selected at-large (listed alphabetically) include: Arkansas State University; Louisiana Tech University; Maryville University of Saint Louis; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Sam Houston State University; Vanderbilt University; Wichita State University and Youngstown State University.

The 2026 National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship will have regional competition at four predetermined sites April 2-4. The winner of each regional will advance to the NCAA championship. The championship matches will be played April 10-11 at the Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio. The Mid-American Conference and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission are the hosts.
All regionals are double elimination except for the opening-round match at the five-team regional sites which will be single elimination. Each round will consist of teams competing in a best-of-three match format, bowled in the following order: five-person team match; Baker total pinfall; and best-of-seven Baker match play. Regional competition will conclude with one team from each regional bracket advancing to compete in the championship. The champion will be determined using a best-of-seven Baker match play, with the championship match airing on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Saturday, April 11.

Championship History 
The Nebraska Cornhuskers hold the most all-time national titles (6) while the defending national champion, Youngstown State, earned its first last year. Vanderbilt and Maryland Eastern Shore have both claimed three titles a piece. McKendree of the GLVC has claimed the title twice, the only DII to ever win the title. McKendree was also runner-up at the 2018 NCAA Championship. 

2025 – Youngstown State
2024 – Jacksonville State
2023 – Vanderbilt
2022 – McKendree
2021 – Nebraska
2020 – Canceled due to Covid-19
2019 – Stephen F. Austin
2018 – Vanderbilt
2017 – McKendree
2016 – Stephen F. Austin
2015 – Nebraska
2014 – Sam Houston State
2013 – Nebraska
2012 – Maryland-Eastern Shore
2011 – Maryland-Eastern Shore
2010 – Fairleigh Dickinson
2009 – Nebraska
2008 – Maryland-Eastern Shore
2007 – Vanderbilt
2006 – Fairleigh Dickinson
2005 – Nebraska
2004 – Nebraska