STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. -- The University of St. Francis men's bowling team began NAIA National Championship competition on a strong note Thursday afternoon when it closed Baker play with a late-day push that resulted in the team moving up seven slots to finish fourth overall among the 12 teams to make the finals.

The Fighting Saints will enter bracket play tomorrow as the No. 4 seed after beating out Milligan University (Tenn.) with 5,109 pins knocked down following their 24 Baker games.  Milligan totaled 5,051 pins.

Joining St. Francis in gaining first-round byes in bracket play are top-seeded Savannah College of Art & Design (Ga.) which registered a 5,283-pin count, followed by Indiana Tech (5,204 pins) and tournament host Lawrence Technological University (Mich.) (5,135).

After falling into 11th place following the first half of the Baker four-set series (12 games), the Saints responded by posting the top two team scores (920 and 873) over the next two Baker sets to jump up five slots in the standings.  USF then went on to post the second-highest team score in the final Baker set (898), allowing the Saints to slide into the coveted No. 4 slot over Milligan to claim the final first-round bye.

A total of five double-elimination rounds will be played on Friday with the remaining three teams advancing to Saturday's final two rounds.  Bracket play features all 12 teams seeded 1-12 based on their final Baker pin count.

Up Next
The Saints face No. 5 Milligan on Friday at 7 am CDT.  The Buffaloes advanced by defeating No. 12 Culver-Stockton College (Mo.) 4-1 in the best-of-seven series. 
 
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